


Love is in the Air ... Ship

by Julia_Danse



Category: Fallout (Video Games), Fallout 4
Genre: Brotherhood of Steel - Freeform, F/M, Fallout 4 - Freeform, Love, Paladin Danse - Freeform, Prydwen, Rape, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-16
Updated: 2019-06-02
Packaged: 2020-03-06 13:01:51
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 31
Words: 31,590
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18851596
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Julia_Danse/pseuds/Julia_Danse
Summary: Paladin Danse and his Knight start a romance abroad the Prydwen. Elder Arthur Maxson got a verbal kick in the guts and allows the relationship. But not without consequences...





	1. How it began

It's been a few months now since I joined the Brotherhood of Steel and I've always been under the command of Paladin Danse since then.  
He always said I perfectly blended into his team which included him, Scribe Haylen and Knight Rhys...

 

As I took action against the Feral Ghouls in front of the Police Station in Cambridge, Danse immediately asked me to help him with another problem they had. He told me that his team was stuck there for a while and couldn't reach out for help. As the caring person I ever was I said yes and again stepped into action.  
Danse told me on the way to Arc Jet Systems what happened and some other stuff. On our way we crossed paths with a small group of Raiders.  
I was impressed by the precise use Danse had with his laser rifle. The Raiders were no problem at all. As we arrived at Arc Jet Systems we went straight through the front door.  
It was strange because there was no security around. We went down deeper into the building. And then we found out what caused the lack of security.

Synths!

We had to deal with a lot of them the deeper we got. But we made it out alive with the Deep Range Transmitter the Brotherhood needed. After that Paladin Danse gave me his laser rifle, the 'Righteous Authority' as a reward for accomplishing this mission.  
Back at the Police Station he asked me if I wanted to join the Brotherhood of Steel. Without hesitation I said yes. Best decision I made in my whole life.

 

Since then 6 months passed by...


	2. Joining the Prydwen

Something felt different today. But not only today. I felt this quite a time now. And I felt it every time he was around. My heart would jump every time I saw him. No wonder, since we were together every day. We became best friends over this time. But I felt more for him than just a deep friendship...   
I never questioned his commands or anything else. But I asked myself what he could feel for me.

 

When the Prydwen arrived at the Boston Airport I was out on a mission by myself. It was an impressive look in the sky over the Commonwealth.

As the huge Air Ship flew by I looked for the signal from the Police Station Cambridge and there it was. My heart jumped as I heard Danse calling for every soldier in the Commonwealth to come to the Police Station. Good thing I was nearby so the walk there wouldn't take too much time. I really was looking forward to see Danse again and it put a smile on my face.

After I arrived at the Police Station I was overwhelmed by the amount of soldiers in Power Armor patrolling in front of the building. I went in and there were even more soldiers all around.

And then there he stood. Fully covered in his Power Armor only the head uncovered, speaking to a knight. As he noticed me I smiled at him and came over.  
"We will head out to the Prydwen. Take all you need and then meet me outside on the roof.", Danse said. "Affirmative." I nodded at him. A few minutes later we both found ourselves on the Police Station's roof, a Vertibird awaiting us.

As we were on the Vertibird the flight was quite unpleasant for me. I didn't feel well, while Danse was standing there and giving me sorrow looks.

He just stood there like a rock, sometimes looking around. "There we are.", he said after a long while and pointed at the huge Air Ship. As we were this close the Prydwen looked even more impressive as I saw her the first time.   
The Vertibird locked in at the Air Ship and we stepped out of it. We already were awaited by someone. His name was Lancer Captain Kells. He gave us some instructions and then dismissed us.

Inside the Prydwen there were a lot of soldiers. More than I saw at the Police Station.   
"You should go. Don't let Elder Maxson wait for too long.", Danse said as we walked along the hallway. "Alright. We'll meet afterwards?", I asked. Danse nodded and smiled at me. Then I went straight to the Elder listening to his speech. I knew he wanted to talk to me afterwards so I waited patiently. As we spoke he said I couldn't have it better than Danse sponsoring me and he promptly promoted me as a knight, still under Danse's command. He said that I should go and meet the crew. Then he dismissed me.

I went directly to the main deck were I found Danse walking around. "How was it?", he asked. "It went pretty well. He promoted me as a knight.", I answered with a huge smile on my face. Danse grinned and said "Congratulations. Come, let's meet the crew."   
We first headed out for Proctor Quinlan. He was always on the search for technical documents and the leader for Field Scribe activities. Then there was Proctor Teagan. He had the full control over the weapons, mods, ammo and other stuff. We then met Proctor Ingram. She was responsible for all sorts of repairs around the Prydwen. She also showed me my very own Power Armor.   
Last but not least we went for a visit with Knight Captain Cade. He was the doc on the Air Ship. He also checked me up. All went quite fine. I was pleased with what I heard and also left him with a pleased look on my face.

Danse showed me the place where I was going to sleep. It was not the best place but I had my own bed, a chest with an alarm clock on it and full of useful stuff, and an ammunition crate. "Take some rest. Then we'll meet up again for a new mission. It's good to have you here."   
Danse had a smile which I never saw on his face before. His brown eyes really melted my heart. "Sleep well.", he added. "Thank you, Paladin.", I replied and went straight to bed with the biggest smile.


	3. Surprise!

The first night wasn't as sleep-full as I wished. But that was always the case while not sleeping in my own bed.   
The hours went by and I rolled from side to side. I opened my eyes, it was still too early to get out of bed. The alarm clock said it was around 3 AM. But I stood up anyways, put on some pants over my shorts while wearing a tank top and went out for a stroll around the Prydwen.

Although it was this early the Air Ship wasn't quiet at all. From time to time there was a soldier patrolling around. And there was this light rumbling from the machines.   
As I walked around I didn't watch out where my feet were taking me until I stood in front of a ladder surrounded by three doors. Two were closed and the third on the right was just leaned on. I saw light shining trough the open door. As I came closer I saw Paladin Danse walking from side to side, without his Power Armor and the head piece. He had wonderful black hair.   
It was a rare view seeing him like this. And I only saw it one time at the Police Station some months ago.   
I knocked and he looked up surprised that I was standing there.   
"Hey, may I come in?", I asked. He nodded. "Please close the door.", he said. After I closed the door I stood in this room. Danse's room. It just looked like a soldiers room had to look like.

"Please, sit down.", he said and pointed onto his bed. Since there was no second chair at his desk I did. "Why are you up this soon?", he asked. "Couldn't sleep." I replied. "Thought I go for a stroll around the Prydwen. Why are you still up?" He said "Couldn't sleep too." while he came closer just to sit down next to me.   
He never was this close to me than now. I could feel the warmth from his body. My heart was beating fast and loud. I could smell his scent and it robbed my senses. I had to focus on a spot on the opposite wall to stay clear in my mind. Somehow he figured something went on and softly touched my shoulder. "Are you okay?", he asked looking concerned. Shivers went down on my whole body. I looked at him shaking my head and smiling. "It's all good. It's just that... I don't know how to handle this situation." Danse looked at me with question marks on his mind. It was clearly to see in his beautiful brown eyes.   
I took a deep breath and started talking again. "Look, this is the first time that we are this close, alone. I really enjoy your company, but..." Before I was able to say more he grabbed my hand with a blushing face. "I always waited for such a situation", he said leaning in closer. "Wait... What..?" And then he kissed me.

I was shocked. My direct superior commander kissed me! But it also felt so good...

After a short while he let go still with his eyes closed facing down to the floor. I touched my lips, slowly realising what was happening. "What... what was that?", I asked lightly. The thoughts in my mind were crushing together. "A confession.", he said softly now staring down at the floor letting out a sigh. Then he began to speak again. "After all this time we spent together I felt that there was more between us than just friendship. I am feeling close to you more than to anyone else." Danse looked at me waiting for me to say something. This time I took his hand in mine and said "Well, I feel quite the same. And I hoped that there could be more than just friendship." We both smiled. "But there's a problem here.", I said then with a sad face. "Do not forget, the code doesn't allow two soldiers falling in love for each other..." "I know.", he replied. "Then we have to keep it secret." He kissed me again. "You should go now. Try to get a bit of rest somehow." I nodded and left. Flattered by what happened a few moments ago I went back to my bed, finally catching some sleep. 


	4. Fort Strong

I woke up quite relaxed and well rested and went to get some breakfast. As I sat down on a free bench I looked around. Some soldiers still were yawning and rubbed their eyes. Good thing we had coffee here. The breakfast itself was good as well.   
Lost in my thoughts I didn't notice someone sitting down in front of me. "Good morning, soldier.", said a deep voice. Startled by the man sitting in front of me I looked at him. "Good morning, Paladin.", I said and smiled. "Ready for your fist mission as knight?", he asked. "Yes, sir!", I said with pride in my voice. We then went to the maintenance central to get my Power Armor.   
It was a great feeling putting it on and walking around. I also carried my laser rifle always with me, to make sure I'll never be unarmed. Danse appreciated this and my safety was important to him. And now I knew why.

Our first mission was to fly to Fort Strong and secure the Fatman Shells by killing the Supermutants and their Behemoth there. Good thing that Vertibirds had Miniguns on board. The pilot flew around our target position while I was aiming for the Mutants. It wasn't that easy because that giant green skin threw huge boulders at us, doing damage on the Vertibird. Soon the Behemoth went down anyways and we had a secured landing. The rest of the Supermutants were no big problem. Danse and I were watching out for each other. We were always a good team.   
Just a few minutes later the area around Fort Strong was cleaned and we were heading to the Bunker standing in front of us. While entering the building more Mutants showed up. Some of their bullets were hitting the wall behind us while taking them down too. They also had some mutated dogs running around. I killed them all with some precise shots from my laser rifle. It was a pleasant feeling somehow, just like a good soldier should feel.   
As we cleared the Bunker we were going deeper down into it and nearer to the ammunition chamber. The Mutants were shooting from all site at us. Danse and I had to stand back to back so none of us would get shot. I really could feel the hatred spreading from the Paladin which made me wonder why he had so much anger against the Supermutants.

After the last green skinned Mutant fell down dead we both were heavy breathing. I looked in Danse's brown eyes seeing how that hatred fell off. "Are you okay?", he asked still breathing heavily. "I'm fine.", I said. "But how about you? I felt so much hate spreading..." He looked at me lightly shocked and then looked away. "Hey, don't look away Danse. Tell me what's wrong."   
I walked over to him taking his head into my hands, forcing him to look into my eyes. "Please."  
Then he told me about his friend Cutler who got infected with the FEV from the Supermutants while on a mission, and that he had to kill him. I felt sorry for him loosing his best friend in such a terrible way. "This is sad. But you did the right thing. Killing those Mutants had to be done. Killing your friend was the only possible option. You did nothing wrong.", I said in a soft voice. He looked me in the eyes knowing that I was right. "Thank you for who you are. And thank you that you are here with me.", he said sad but quite soft. I kissed him on the cheek. "Let's go, we have to secure these Nukes."   
He nodded but didn't move. "You should go and report to Elder Maxson that everything went fine. I'll stay here making sure Fort Strong is staying safe." "Oh... Okay... But please take care.", I said almost stuttering. "I'll be fine. Just tell Maxson we need some soldiers here. Now go. And please, take care."

Without loosing any more time I went back to the Prydwen. The Elder was quite surprised that I came back this fast. He was pleased by the fast success Danse and I had and promptly sent a Vertibird to Fort Strong. Then he dismissed me.

I went back to maintenance at the main deck to put away my Power Armor. Until now I didn't realize how hungry I was. While eating something I also started to feel tired. Using Power Armor could be really exhausting. After finishing my meal I went to bed just putting off the shoes falling down into the sheets. I was all alone. Good thing so I could sleep without any interruptions.


	5. Together

I don't know for how long I was sleeping but after I woke up someone sat on the foot end of my bed. "Hey, what the..." I wasn't able to suppress a yawn and had to rub my eyes to see clear. "Hello sleeping beauty.", said this familiar deep and soft voice. A warm hand was lying on one of my feet. I looked in a surprisingly relaxed face of Danse while he was sitting there. "You shouldn't be here.", I said still yawning. "Why not? I am just making sure a soldier under my command is fine.", he responded. One of my eyebrows went up my forehead, then I just threw my pillow in Danse's face. "Oompf!", it came from under the pillow. I had to laugh really hard but didn't expect the pillow thrown back into my face. It was the first time ever that I heard him laugh. It sounded really nice. "Okay, I'm awake now.", I said putting the pillow back onto my bed. I sat up and stretched my back. Danse came closer, we were still alone. With my arms still up he moved so close that I could wrap them around him, smiling and telling him "You are the best person on this whole Air Ship." And before he was able to respond I kissed him. It was just a short kiss, but filled with a lot of emotion.   
As Danse looked in my face he was quite surprised.   
"I... I should go now. This is not the best place for this things.", he said and stoop up.   
"I have to go."   
"Okay...", I said. "I'm sorry." And he went away leaving me with a worried feeling.

Since there was nothing to do for me today I decided to go to the free time area. A few soldiers were already there having some talks and drinking beer. I looked at a nearby clock. It was already afternoon. Then I saw a desk with a terminal standing on it. There was a nice collection of games installed. So I tried a few and had some fun.   
The hours went by and I set one record after another. Then a Squire came running towards me. "Excuse me knight, Paladin Danse is searching for you.", she said. "Thank you.", I replied. "Then I shouldn't let him wait for too long. Where can I find him?" The Squire told me he was in his quarters, I thanked her and went there.   
While I walked along the hall this worrying feeling came back.   
I softly knocked at the door and waited for an answer. He opened the door himself letting me in.   
He just wore a tank-top, showing off his muscles and some comfortable looking pants. His uniform was lying on the chair at his desk. I still stood there in front of him admiring him, but also having those bad feelings. "You want to come in or are you trying to put down roots in front of my door?", he asked with a brow risen. Without saying a word I stepped in.   
After a short while standing around I started speaking "You were searching for me? Well, here I am. What's the matter?" "Nothing, I just wanted you to stay with me for a while.", he said. "Please, feel free to sit down." So I did. Once again I sat down on his bed but with my legs crossed and leaning with my back against the wall. He sat down next to me also leaning against the wall. Silence flooded the room.

Soon I felt his head resting on my shoulder. He let out a sigh. "Why does it have to be this complicated..?", he said. "What do you mean?", I asked wondering what he meant. "Look, your commanding officer fell in love with you..." He let out another sigh. "But I am not able to show you as much as I want to. If I do, Maxson will throw us both out of the Brotherhood." "But he can't!", I said feeling anger rising inside me. "It is just natural that two individuals fall in love over the time. And you can't tell me he didn't or even doesn't love someone too!" I smacked my hand on the bed. "He did. Her name was Sarah Lyons. She was the daughter of Owyn Lyons, former Elder of the Brotherhood." I looked at Danse as if I saw an alien and couldn't believe it as he told me this. He started to grin and said "Yes, even Arthur Maxson knows what love is." After I calmed down it hit me, hard. "Wait a minute... Did you just say you love me?" "Yes I did.", he said looking at his arms leaning on his knees. "Hey Danse.""Yes?" I looked him deep in his wonderful brown eyes and said "I love you!" Then I kissed him passionately.   
He stood up, locked the door and went straight back into kissing me. Clothes came off, we both were exploring the body from the other. I never thought we would land in his bed together...   
He was very gentle but also really passionate at the same time. I deeply enjoyed this moment and so did he.   
Arm in arm we fell asleep afterwards. 


	6. Raiders

Waking up feeling a warm body next to mine was a good feeling. I missed it for a long time.   
Until now.   
I cuddled against his back, wrapping my arm around him, trying to catch more sleep. I buried my face into his hair and oh, he smelled so good, it put a smile on my sleepy face.   
While I almost fell asleep he turned around waking me up again. I felt the need of stretching my body, and so I did. Then he wrapped his arms around me holding me tight to him. I joined this hug and pulled him even closer to my beating heart while giving him a soft kiss on the lips.   
It felt like I was dreaming the best dream of my whole life.   
The best thing of this dream? It was real!

We were still holding each other close, kissing softly as someone knocked on the door. We both were startled by this sound. "Who's there?", Danse said loudly. "Sir, it is me, Squire Ava. Elder Maxson is sending me. He has a new mission for you and your knight.", said a familiar voice. "Thank you Squire, you're dismissed." "Sir, yes Sir!" And then she walked away with the sound of her steps fading. "It'll be better I don't let Maxson wait for too long. I'll be back soon." Danse was putting on his tank top and the comfortable pants again and went straight to the Elder. Around half an hour he came back. While he was away I also put my clothes back on.

"Ah, very well.", he said putting on his uniform. "We have to head out immediately."   
It was early in the morning, almost too early for my taste.   
We went out together not minding the other soldiers walking around. I heard them saying something about why Danse and I walked out from the same room at this time of the day. If I'd had the time I would've told them to mind their own business.   
I took a quick run to get my own uniform and then we walked straight towards the maintenance. We both put on our Power Armors and headed out with a Vertibird.

After an four hour flight the pilot dropped us near a heavy Raider infested area. Thinking about a good tactic we decided to come from two sides meeting in the middle. There were tall buildings which we had to focus on too. There were also a lot of Raiders in them. We gave ourselves a bit time to get into position, waiting a few minutes and then starting our attack. We both threw some grenades in several directions first so the Raiders would be distracted while we rushed in.   
Soon a big bunch of them was lying dead on the ground, some of them missing a few limbs. The ones in the big houses were a bit harder to reach, but they also got shot down. Suddenly I heard a loud shot missing me for just a few centimeters. "SNIPER!", I screamed. Too late. A bullet hit me hard on my Armor and I almost went down on my knees. "Ah, fuck!", I said. I heard Danse calling my name. Then I saw that light shine from that sniper rifle's scope which hit me. Just right before the next bullet was shot the sniper went down. My laser rifle melted his face off, letting it explode into tiny bits of flesh and bone.

Something was flying into my direction, I saw it too late. One of the Raiders on the ground threw a grenade towards me, exploding near a pile of garbage. Suddenly I felt a huge pain in my abdomen. As I looked down all the color in my face disappeared. My Power Armor was impaled by a huge metal piece and blood was dripping down on the ground. With all the power I had left in my lungs I screamed "DANSE! I NEED HELP, IMMEDIATELY!" and fell down on my knees. There had to be more than just this grenade to make such an impact on my Armor.

I heard Danse killing more of the Raiders while moving to my position. He even killed the last of those bastards, the one injuring me with his grenade. Everything was secure now. I heard him running, still calling my name. As he was close to me he threw his rifle to the ground. He tried to hold me carefully but it was difficult. Never ever in my life did I have to suffer from such a huge pain. Danse used a Vertibird signal grenade hoping they would come soon. He didn't leave my side. He was trembling really bad. "Please, stay with me!", he said with tears in his eyes. "I... I will..." Then everything faded to black.


	7. Wakig up

There were some familiar noises around me.   
For some reason I wasn't able to move. While my mind was getting clearer every minute I felt something like pressure on my abdomen, then the pain came back. I was too frightened to open my eyes. I thought I have to puke because of the pain. "She's waking up", said a male voice I tried to figure out. I knew I heard it before, but I wasn't sure. "Quick! Find and bring Paladin Danse here immediately!" "Affirmative!" Then there were fast footsteps fading away.   
Mhm... Danse... I finally remembered.   
And I was able to find out where I was and who's voice I heard. It was Knight Captain Cade. I was back at the Prydwen at the medical bay. Slowly I opened my eyes. The first thing I saw was Danse running towards me with a much worried face. "We better leave them alone now", the Knight Captain said while pulling a curtain around us.   
Danse's face was killing me and I started to cry. Softly he sat down on my bed taking my hand into his. He spoke with a light almost cracking voice. "You're awake... I thought you wouldn't make it. Your wound it... it didn't look good." A tear fell down onto his chest. "Hey, I am not dead yet.", I said while drying my own tears. "I just feel that pain." "You had big luck. Cade pulled out a huge metal piece of your abdomen. You'll have a big scar there soon." I tried to look at it but a big bandage was wrapped around me. I knew it was better not to move it.   
"What about my Power Armor?", I asked. "The torso is completely destroyed. All the other parts look good. Hell... Isn't it good we have them? Without a Power Armor, you could be dead now!" Danse had a grim tone in his voice. "Good thing you killed that bastards then, eh?", I said trying to cheer him up somehow. He looked at me searching in my eyes. It felt like he touched my soul. "I'm glad you're alive."

He spoke the next words so quiet I almost wasn't able to understand him. "I love you."   
A smile formed on my lips. "I love you too.", I whispered softly.

It took me some days to sit up straight and eat something that wasn't just soup. But the pain went away slowly, so it was almost fine. Cade gave me a Stimpak from time to time to help me if it got too painful. Danse visited me every day making sure my healing process was going good. He was quite astonished as I started to walk around on crutches for a bit after ten days of strict bed rest. I had the feeling that he was over protective somehow. But I also enjoyed him caring about me.

But also, the soldiers started to whisper again because we spent so much time together.   
Every time Danse looked at them they went quiet immediately saying they were sorry.   
It put a smile on my face. But I also knew that sooner or later they would go to Elder Maxson telling him what they saw. And this wouldn't be a walk on cozy clouds then...   
We always told the soldiers that Danse was just making sure the knight under his command did well. He had lost half of his team before I arrived at the Police Station. He wouldn't let someone else under his command die ever again. The soldiers understood this.

And they also knew we had a deep friendship. Better said, that was all they needed to know.


	8. Against the code / Finally free

Days turned into weeks.

Knight Captain Cade was pleased with my healing process. The scar I had on my abdomen was not infected and looked not that bad as I thought, although it was quite long. "Knight, it is with great pleasure that I am telling you that you can go back to your quarters now. But before you leave, Elder Maxson wants to speak to you. And please still don't go on any mission until we can say you are a one hundred percent fit. Understood?", he asked. "Understood. And thank you for every thing. Ad Victoriam!"   
It was time for some hygienic care of myself before I met the Elder. I went to my bed, grabbing some new clothes from my chest and heading for a shower. The hot water felt really good on my skin.   
It felt like I was standing there for an hour, hot water dripping down my body. It was the first time I ever touched my scar. I don't know why but I started shaking. I just realized how close this encounter was.   
After I finished my shower and putting on some fresh clothes I went on a search for my special person. I still had to use crutches from time to time. It felt unpleasant walking around on the Prydwen and every one around staring. No one tried to say something ever. Good for them, I thought.

After a long felt like while I found Danse at the maintenance standing in front of my Power Armor. It was a little shocking to see my Armor destroyed. But Proctor Ingram already had her hands on it. I came closer and looked what she was doing. As she was looking up I waved at her with a little smile not wanting to disturb her. Danse stood there and turned around to see who Ingram was waving at. His face lit up and went from straight soldier to happy child receiving sweets as he saw me. I could feel how bad he wanted to hug me. But instead he just put a hand on my shoulder and asked how I felt. A light smile appeared on my face as I looked into Danse's eyes. Even Ingram was looking up. "Ahem...", she said with a loud voice. "Knight, you want to look at your Armor?" "Sure, Proctor.", I said with a blushing face. Then she told me what she already had repaired and what still was left to do. "It will take a while until all is done.", Ingram finished her report. "Sounds good to me. It also will take a while until I am fit enough for new missions. Take your time Proctor. And thank you." Ingram smiled at me and nodded.

"So, what are you going to do now?", Danse asked. "I have to go to Elder Maxson, he wants to talk to me. Wanna join?" "Sure. Why not." So we both went to the Elder.  
He greeted us and started to speak straight. "Good that you both are here.", he said. "I need to know something." Danse and I looked at each other. "Some of the soldiers told me that you spend a lot of time together. They even saw you coming out of Danse's quarters at the same time. What's with all that sayings?" I groaned out loud starting to answer Maxson's questions. "Look Elder, we know that it is against the code of the Brotherhood that two soldiers have a relationship. But did you see it affecting what we are fighting for? Or the missions we were on? NO! We are a very good team, the best if you want to know!" I was getting really angry at this situation and almost started to scream. "Yes, we are in love Elder. But I don't fucking care about your STUPID rules!" Then I left the scenery before he was able to say something again.   
I didn't know where I went but I found myself outside the Prydwen on the upper front deck with a bench on it. I sat down looking around. The view was quite awesome.   
As I thought about what happened the time flew by. Tears rolled down my cheeks because I realized that maybe I ended my career in the Brotherhood of Steel. And the fact that I also terminated the career of Danse made me scream in pure anger, almost throwing my crutches down onto the Air Port.   
After a while I was just sitting there sobbing hard. Then there were footsteps. Someone was coming.

"Are you okay?", he said with an extremely concerned voice sitting down next to me. I looked at him with red and swollen eyes. "Do... do I look like I'm... I'm okay?", I stuttered getting the hiccups. Some more tears filled my eyes. "I just told Maxson to fuck off. I wouldn't even wonder if he wants to execute me now. We both will be kicked out, I'm one hundred percent sure!"   
My body started to shake. Danse dragged me into a tight hug, softly patting my head. "I don't know what you are talking about." This confused me so much I had to look him in the face. "What do you mean?", I asked. Danse smiled and said "Everything is fine. Maxson is accepting our relationship. But he has one rule for it." "What rule?" My eyebrows went up on my forehead. "He wants us to stay as this perfect team that we are. While you were leaving I saw him thinking about what you said to him. Looks like you opened his eyes and mind about that rule." Danse hold me tight. 

It started to get cold here and I was shaking bad. "Hey, should we go inside? Looks like you're almost freezing here." "That would be nice, yes." "There's one more thing he said to me.", Danse said as we started to go back inside. "What is it?", I asked. "Maxson said you are allowed to live with me in my quarters." The crutches were falling down as I jumped right into his arms kissing him.

Finally we were free to show our love.


	9. Moving in / Training

"Come, we'll go and bring your stuff to our quarters." "That makes me really happy right now."   
"What do you mean?!" "Our quarters." We both smiled while we entered the main deck.  
As we arrived at my very soon to be ex-bed, Danse carried my stuff away. He didn't even let me carry a backpack or anything else. All the soldiers around us were surprised by this look.   
I couldn't contain my laughter at all their faces as we walked by. But it really looked hilarious how he carried my stuff.

We put my clothes in one of Danse's lockers, the laser rifle leaning against it. That was all I had because I traded my old guns for ammo with Teagan. "Feels like home, doesn't it?" I was thinking out loud. "Almost.", said Danse. "Shouldn't we get a couch and a table too?"   
"Brilliant!", I said with a smirk. 

Over the next few weeks we made our quarters pretty cozy and home.   
Even Maxson was impressed. It looked like he settled in with this new for him situation. He even came over from time to time for having a beer with us, giving us the more complicated missions he knew other soldiers wouldn't get out alive from. It was an honor he did this, but also dangerous. First of all because other soldiers were jealous. But also because those missions had something to do with the Institute's Synths, and we were the only ones knowing how to deal with them.

And he definetly needed a timeout from being the serious Elder he was. But for me it still was funny seeing him smile every now and then. He also drank a lot of beer. Damn, it took A LOT of beer for him to get drunk. Good thing his quarters were just next door. We often had to bring him back there if he drank waaay too much. Maxson was just a young man in his early twenties.

***

Ingram did an amazing job on my Power Armor. She said she put in some extras, smiling bright. I thanked her for all she did for me and put the Armor on. It felt great being on duty again.   
Danse also appreciated this. He got really bored over this long time of doing nothing, so he started to work out more. I joined him because I wanted to get fit again.

***

Every one admired him while he did his workout. I knew he felt embarrassed about that so I helped him out a little. We also did some melee training.

Nobody wanted to train with him or me then. They all just looked as we fought each other with fists and feet. One day we had such a rough melee session that even blood was flowing. Danse hit me hard in the face and almost broke my nose. He walked up to me and wanted to look if everything was alright. I just wiped the blood away and tackled him down. I had to fight hard to stay up on him while he tried to switch places, he almost was too strong for me.

We wrestled for a short time then I pinned him down. He was lying on the floor heavily breathing. I held him on his shoulders. He was holding my hips as I sat on his lap facing him with a huge smile, also in need of calm breathing. I felt really attracted to him at this moment. And I knew that he was feeling the same. I stood up and helped him to get up. The soldiers around were all quietly watching us as we left the training area as fast as possible.

Even before we closed the door to our little kingdom we were heavily kissing each other. It was the first time after I got hit with that grenade that we had some naughty fun together...


	10. The Railroad

And there we were, heading out for another mission with a Vertibird. We had to search for a path called "The Freedom Trail". It was said that this trail was leading directly to the Railroad. We had to eliminate them because they helped Synths to escape the Institute.

Maxson also sent some soldiers after us for support. The Railroad was well organized and had a decent amount of gun power. That's why we appreciated his decision. And it also was a good lesson for them to see how a good team had to work.

"We'll have to fully trust you when we arrive", Danse motivated the soldiers. "Let's make the Brotherhood proud. Ad Victoriam!" "Ad Victoriam!", the soldiers echoed.  
The flight took some time, everyone sat quiet staying at their very own thoughts.   
I wondered what was in front of us if we'd arrived at our destination.

We were landing near Massachusetts State House. "Alright soldiers. Stay focused on anything you see. Every information is important. Watch out for hostiles and stick together. Let's move!" The instructions were clear.   
Soon we found the red trail which led us through Boston. The trail led along old historical buildings from the pre-war time. We came across the Old Granary Burying Ground, the Old State House, the Old Corner Bookstore, Faneuil Hall and Paul Revere's House before the trail stopped at the Old North Church. In front of each location was a circular marker with red letters and numbers.   
And not forget to mention the amount of Raiders and Supermutants we had to fight.

We searched around the church for more signs and we found something. A lantern was painted on one of the walls. But where was the entrance? "Look inside the church.", Danse commanded the soldiers.   
While all the soldiers went into the church, Danse and I were standing outside putting down our Power Armor helmets. "I hope we are enough to cope up with them.", I said with a risen brow wiping away the sweat on my forehead. Danse also had a concerned look on his face. "Let's go find out.", he said while putting his helmet back on and headed inside the church. I followed him.

The church was almost completely destroyed. Benches were lying all around the room, the upper seats crashed on top. The soldiers already killed the ghouls in here.   
Finally we found an entrance. It led through the catacombs beneath the church and ended in front of a closed stone door. Next to it was a board with a rotating ring on it.

Before we opened the door with resolving the puzzle I spoke up. "Listen soldiers. Let me go in first, stay in the shadows. Let me talk to them first. Open fire on my signal." Everyone nodded in agreement. Then we solved the puzzle - 'RAILROAD' was the answer – and we stepped in. It was dark, too dark for my taste.

Then all of a sudden a bright light flashed me, a woman talking with a loud voice somewhere in front of me. "Who are you and what are you doing here?!", she asked. "I am a knight of the Brotherhood of Steel.", I started to talk. "And I am here to tell you that your time is over. Helping Synths is a crime against humanity. Leave the Commonwealth or you'll die!" The woman in front of me laughed. Suddenly she turned off the bright flashing light. There were standing five people one of them with bright red hair. Another woman with white hair was heavy armed with a Minigun.   
I gave the soldiers the sign, jumped out of the way and then hell broke out.

Red laser beams flew through the air, bullets hit walls. The smell of burnt flesh and ozone hung deep. The woman with the Minigun was our main target. Half of the team had tried to put her down. It was Danse who got the kill shot right between her eyes. His Armor was severe damaged from the bullets impacts. Mine didn't look good either. But we had to move on. As we went deeper into the catacomb we soon found out that this was the Raiload's HQ, filled with even more armed people. Before even one of the soldiers could pace in I threw a grenade through the room. At least five people got killed from the explosion.

A few minutes later I found a robot called P.A.M. Proctor Quinlan said if we find her we have to override her system and send her to the Prydwen. Okay, done.

"Soldiers! Follow me!", I shouted through the last laser beams. A short but tight path led through even more catacombs. We followed it on high alert. It lead to another huge hall with a staircase, turrets on the opposite wall and more Railroad Agents. Danse signaled to throw grenades. The Agents saw it too late. Explosions shook the ground, people were screaming and limps were flying through the air. The turrets fired without a break. It was difficult to put them down. I had to fight against three Agents at the same time and didn't have the time to care for the turrets myself. At the corner of my eyes I saw Danse sprinting through the hall doing what I couldn't do.

Turret by turret went down when he shot at them with precision. His Power Armor started to look like Swiss Cheese and I saw him trembling. The last turret burst into little bits of metal as Danse went down. "DANSE!", I screamed. The three Railroad Agents I had to fight went down short after, each with a laser beam to the head, turning into puddles of brain and bones.

I sprinted down to Danse. He was lying there without movement. A blood puddle started to form under his body. As I fell on my knees I threw my helmet aside, eyes full of tears. "No, no, no, no..." My hands were shaking as I took his head between them. He was looking at me in pain. "S-stim-stimpak..." It was just a whisper. Danse tried to hold one of my hands with his shaky own. "Don't move.", I said fumbling on the chest plate of my Armor, taking out 3 Stimpaks and some Med-X. "Okay... This is going to hurt like hell." And then I rammed the three Stimpaks in Danse's chest, the Med-X shortly after. He grumbled and closed his eyes, not moving but still breathing. I knew this was dangerous with the bullets still stuck inside his chest. "Soldiers! We need to get out of here, NOW!" My order was lout and clear.

Two Power Armored men were carrying Danse out of this hell hole. The others including myself killed everyone stepping in our way outside. We threw a Vertibird signal grenade, red smoke spiraling up into the sky. It took less than 15 minutes for the 'bird to arrive. My brothers and sisters made sure Danse and I were boarded and safe while they took the long way back by walking. "Stay safe.", I told them. Then the 'bird flew away.

Danse started to cough blood. "Hey you'll make it. You hear me Danse?" I looked at him, tears falling down. Cade already awaited us at the flight deck and rushed Danse inside the Prydwen asap. I trotted inside after them, a waiting Maxson looking at me. "What happened?", he asked with risen brows. After I told him everything he shook his head. "That was a typical Danse.", he said. "Always with his stubborn head through the wall." Then he layed his hand on my shoulder in a friendly way. "Go look after him. He'll need you."   
"Thank you Elder."


	11. At the med bay

The minutes felt like hours and the hours like days. Like a tiger trapped in a cage I paced in front of the med bay up and down. Knight Captain Cade didn't want to let me in after I spat the worst curses at him I could imagine. He looked at me with eyes wide open after I finished my verbal rampage against him. Words couldn't describe how angry I was. It was unnerving not to know if Danse would survive. I wanted to be at his side, holding him, telling him everything would be okay. I shook my head rapidly as tears formed in my eyes again.

Still wearing my Power Armor I punched the wall next to me, letting out a desperate scream. The impact of my fist left a dent in the metal, still vibrating from the sheer strength I put in the punch.

Proctor Ingram walked around the corner cursing loudly and wearing an angry face. As she saw me the look on her face changed immediately. "Girl, you really need to calm down.", she said. "Or this poor ship will fall down because you make it look like Swiss Cheese." A sympathetic hand resting on my shoulder. A guilty sigh escaped my lips as I looked at her apologizing for my emotional outburst. She smiled at me, giving the metal around my shoulder a little squeeze and said: "You should take your Armor off. I'll wait here until you come back." I nodded and walked to the maintenance and put my Power Armor into it's bay. I almost stumbled upon my own feet. I felt weak and tired. My whole body shouted at me with pain in every bone.

Just when I arrived back at the med bay Ingram had a relieved impression on her face. "Hurry.", she said. "The Paladin is waking up." "Thank you Proctor." Then I stepped into the med bay.   
A curtain hung in the back hiding a bed with blood stains on the floor. The Knight Captain looked at me like I wanted to yell at him again but when he saw the wet in my eyes the look on his face softened. He came up to me and said: "The Paladin lost a lot of blood. I had to pull out eight bullets of his chest. Fortunately, the lungs and other organs are not affected. But he has 3 broken ribs. He has to stay at the Prydwen for at least six to eight weeks for a full recovery." I nodded and Cade left.

A broken Power Armor stood in the corner of the room, blood on every metallic surface. Danse would be really mad if he'd saw his Armor in this shape. I walked straight to his bed. He had an IV in his arm and was wearing nothing but his shorts, his chest fully covered in bandage and eyes still closed but steady breathing. I took one of his hands in mine. His face was pale, the shadows under his eyes dark. "Danse...", I whispered softly sliding with my other handy over his beard. He took a deep breath and his eyes fluttered, then he looked at me.

The tears in my yes couldn't be contained anymore and they fell down. I smiled at him while he looked very confused. "Why are you crying?", he asked with a raspy voice. He squeezed my hand. I carefully sat down on his bed and told him what had happened. His expression was unreadable. After I finished he just rose a brow and stared into the distance lost in his own thoughts.

***

The days went by slow. Danse still was at the med bay. Cade finally allowed him after seven days to wear his officer's jumpsuit. And after ten days he said Danse was fit enough to leave and move back to his own quarters. Cade knew I would take good care over the Paladin. He gave me some Stimpaks to support Danse's healing progress. "Welcome home."


	12. Fort Independence / The Castle

The weeks felt like old chewing gum. Time went by in a very slow pace. I, for myself, thought it's nice to have some time off off duty. But as the weeks grew older even I was bored to hell.

***

Danse was recovering slowly. Cade said this was the best way for healing broken bones. Time.   
He was annoyed by the fact that he wasn't able to work out properly. The Knight Captain said it was too dangerous because another rib could also break and pierce his lungs. This was the time Danse had to learn patience even more.

***

One day I put on some light armor over my jumpsuit, 'Righteous Authority' strapped to my back and then took a Vertibird down to the Airport doing some condition exercise. I just heard on Diamond City Radio that the Minutemen had claimed Fort Independence, these days better known as 'The Castle', and wanted to look what they did so far. It was quite a distance between the Airport and the Fort so I started to jog there. On my way closer to the 'Castle' I needed to crouch around. I didn't want to be seen too soon.

The ground around the building was littered with dead Mirelurks. Crouching near a little hallway I was able to see inside to the courtyard. A huge Mirelurk corpse was lying in the middle next to a huge antenna. That was the first time I ever saw a Mirelurk Queen. Jeez I never thought that they were THIS big!

The Minutemen inside the Fort were busy cleaning the courtyard from all the blood that was spread. Dark grey clouds promised a soon to be here rain which would help them clean everything naturally. The wind catched up in it's speed and dead leafs were flying around. That wasn't just a normal rainy weather incoming, a storm was brewing up. It would take some time to go back to the Airport, I needed cover if I didn't want to get blown away by the wind if I'd stay here any longer.

One Minuteman came real close to me deep in his own thoughts. I cleared my throat and stepped into the stony hallway towards him. "Hey you.", I called out to him. He jumped when he saw me gripping his pistol on his hip. "Calm down, I don't mean no harm. Let me just tell you that you should seek shelter. A storm is coming soon. Tell your comrades to secure everything." He looked at me like I was an Alien from another planet. He looked past me at the upcoming wet hell and nodded. "What about you?", he asked. "You'll never make it in time to be safe." "Don't worry, I'll be.", I told him. I turned around and started my way back to the Airport. High waves broke on the 'Castle's' walls. The wind grew stronger and stronger over the time.

I heard a strange noise and looked up, just to see that the Prydwen slowly went down onto the Airport. It was too dangerous to let the vessel stay in the air. My feet started to run without my attention. My mind went directly to Danse and all the others on the Airship. I ran like the devil was right behind me as a gust of wind hit me hard and I tripped and fell down hard on my hands and knees. "FUCK!", I said out loud, stood up and steadied myself to run again.

Rain was pouring down and before I was at the Airport my clothes were soaked down to my skin and bones. Wet hair clung in my face, droplets of water tripping down on the tip of my nose. "Open the gate!", I screamed through the howling of the storm as I run up to the Airport waving my hands. One of the knights saw me and opened up the gate. With my feet still slipping I came to a halt right in front of her. "Thanks.", I said heavily breathing. "Are you alright? You are bleeding.", the knight said to me. As I looked down I saw that my hands and knees were covered in red. "Damn, seems like I fell harder than I expected." She chuckled a bit but stood straight again after I shot a dark glance at her. I sighed. "Thanks anyway. Stay safe out here. Ad Victoriam!"

It was strange seeing the Prydwen down on the ground and not high up in the sky. But gladly I didn't have to take a Vertibird to board again.   
Warm air covered my cold body as I opened the door of the flight deck stepping onto the bridge. Elder Maxson was standing in his conference room and shook his head. I left this scene before he was able to see me, heading straight to my quarters.

Danse was sitting at his desk doing some paperwork. When he heard the door he jumped a little looking confused and tired. "Hi there.", I said with a weak smile and waved at him as I stepped into our little kingdom. My smile faded instantly as I saw how the look on his face changed into a mix of sorrow and anger. "Where the hell have you been?", he asked in a really grumpy tone. I just shrugged and said "At Fort Independence." "Why? Wha... What did you do there?" His brows almost touched his hair. "Checking if the radio was right. The Minutemen claimed it and killed every Mirelurk there. Even a Queen!"

Danse looked at me like he couldn't believe what I said, eyes wide open. I loved when he looked at me like that. I loved to surprise him, just to see this look on his face. I knew that his guard was down then. Feeling how my cold and wet clothes clung to my skin I started to strip me out of them. 

As I stood there in nothing more than my also wet underwear Danse looked down at me with a frown. "What happened to your knees?", he asked. "Oh, a gust of wind hit me and I fell. Nothing tragic." My knees already crusted up. Danse stood up walking towards me. I looked at him as he took my elbows into his hands rubbing my arms up and down. His voice was soft as he spoke again. "You could've been seriously injured, or worse, shot..." He wrapped his arms around me embracing me in a gentle hug. My head rested on his chest. I did better not telling him that I spoke to one of the Minutemen. Danse was right, I could've been shot.


	13. Greentech Genetics

Liberty Prime was almost done building. Ingram was at his fine tuning while Danse and I were heading out to the Glowing Sea to secure Sentinel Site Prescott and it's Mk.28 Nukes.

***

While Danse was still recovering Maxson sent me out with some other knights to locate The Institute. That also included to track down and kill a Courser.   
We were heading with a Vertibird to the Cambridge Police Station where Haylen and Rhys were still stationed.   
I asked Haylen about the signals she still caught. She showed me a portable device and told me how to use it to track the signal down. I switched it on and it caught the beeping instantly. It was weak but it was there. So my team and I left the Police Station and we went south east heading to the ruins of the CIT. The signal grew stronger and steadier. The signal led us to the Greentech Genetics, a building overrun by Gunners.

As we entered the building there were gunshots. A lot of gunshots. And dead Gunners littered the floor. I ordered my team to loot their corpses for ammo and guns as fast and silent as possible. Suddenly there was a voice heard from the intercom which said that the Courser was in the upper floors. As we headed up there where more Gunners which we took care of. And soon the voice mentioned us through the intercom. Shit! They discovered us.   
Silence wasn't an option any more. "Okay guys, let's make it quick. We go up there and kill that Institute bastard. Leave no Gunner alive on the way. Move out!" My team then split into two groups to cover more ground. My group went up pretty quick. Turrets on each floor made our way up a bit hard, but nothing to deal big with. We met the other group on the fourth floor and went up then.

The Courser stood there in the middle of the room. Gunner knelt in from of him. "Where's the code for that door?", he asked in a monotone voice. The Gunner shook their heads, telling him they didn't know. Then a blue beam lit up the room and one of the Gunners fell limp to the side. The two which were left now were shaking as they watched their dead comrade.   
Then I saw it. A girl stood behind a closed door, face spoke of pure fright and desperation.

My team and I didn't lose time and we entered the room. The Courser asked if we were there for the Synth. I'm pretty sure he didn't think about that the Brotherhood killed Synths.

Then hell broke out. The Courser started to fire at us. My team littered the room with red laser beams but the Courser used a device to get hollow. "Fuck! Find him!", I shouted over the firing. Then I saw a shimmer right in front of me. Before the Courser was able to shoot at me I hit him with a load of red lasers. I hit the device and his stealth went down. He got hit from every side of the room and he soon was lying dead in front of my power armored feet. "Let's see what secrets you are hiding asshole.", I said when I stepped out of the Armor to inspect his corpse. He had some fusion cells on him, the Stealth Boy I shot and then I saw the lump on his neck. The combat knife in one of my jumpsuits bags came in handy at this task. I slit open the skin on his neck and pulled out a strange device. "Guess we found what we searched for guys. Let's go back to the Police Station to rest for a bit and stock up on our supplies." My crew nodded in agreement. No one died today, only some were shot in the extremities. But their Armors kept them safe most of the time.

The girl in the room was still frightened. But when I approached her she asked me to get her out there. She told me where to find the password for the door's terminal. I opened it for her telling my crew not to shoot her. Then we moved out.

Back at the Police Station Haylen took care of the wounded soldiers. Rhys looked at me like he did all the time before. I only played with the device from the Courser in my hands waving it at him with a wicked smile. "Jealous?", I asked him and laughed. He rose his brows and shook his head. Then he walked away letting himself fall onto one of the many chairs around a table. Oh yeah he was jealous as fuck.   
We took the time and stayed over night. Haylen and I were talking about what had happened lately and brought ourselves up to date. Giggles and laughters were shared between the both of us.   
It was good having a friend like Haylen.


	14. In between

The flight to the Prydwen was uneventful and relaxed. My team was in a very good mood and deep in some chatter and laughs. The Commonwealth looked peaceful from above and I found myself lost in my thoughts. The rattling of the Vertibird's docking process brought me back to reality.

My first way led me to the debriefing with Elder Maxson. He was impressed that none of the soldiers were injured in a serious way and congratulated me for a successful mission. Next was Proctor Quinlan. I handed him the Courser's device which he told me was a chip and took it with a bright smile.   
Ingram was eager to have a look at my Power Armor. So I went to maintenance and let her do her magic while I went back to see Danse.

I opened the door to our home and he was lying on the bed deep down in a book wearing nothing than a towel around his hips. Tiny water droplets dripped down from his still wet hair. Mmmhh what a view! "Hey there honey.", I called out with a soothing voice. He looked up and his face was lighting up with a wide smile. "Hi there", he answered and stood up, walking over to me. I hugged him and planted a kiss on his lips. "I'm glad you're back. I was worried about you.", he then whispered into my ear nibbling softly on my earlobe. This sent shivers down my spine directly into my core. I felt the heat spread up, I wanted more. A soft moan escaped my mouth. I pulled him closer to me, feeling the heat of his skin, the light hair on his chest. My hands were all over him while I kissed him more passionate. His hands were on my hips slowly moving upward over my chest. He pulled open the zipper of my jumpsuit and slid it down over my shoulders down to my waist planting kisses down to my navel. His stubble prickled all over my skin. I shuddered. "Oh Danse..."  
He hummed still planting kisses onto every centimeter of my skin. Before I knew what was up he grabbed me by my waist again and lifted me onto his hips. I wrapped my legs around him chuckling over his behaviour. Danse lost his towel while walking over to the bed. He threw me on it and got rid of my jumpsuit quickly. Danse's hands were all over me exploring each curve of my body.

Heaven, sweet heaven.

The pace he used to please me was pure ecstasy. With every thrust I felt the climax come nearer and nearer. My moaning grew louder. "Faster honey...", I breathed, sweat dripping down from my brows. Danse smiled and did as I wished, filling me faster with his length. Emotions exploded and I screamed his name. I felt Danse twitch as he came into me. We both still shuddered watching into each others eyes, heavy breathing and wide smiles on our faces.

Danse got off and was lying down on the bed cradling me in his arms still smiling mischievously. I peppered him with kisses. "I love you. I love you. I love you.", I said laughing. He pulled me even closer, kissing my nose and said "I love you to."   
Still in this position we both fell asleep.

Everything was just perfect...


	15. Promotion / Cambridge... again

It was late when I woke up. Danse was already gone down to the Airport training the Initiates. The walk to the bathroom was painful. I didn't realize how much my body ached yesterday. But the shower was hot and long and I felt relaxed afterwards. With a light smile on my face I hummed to a melody in my head walking to the mess for some food. Being late for breakfast had it's perks. The mess wasn't as overcrowded as normally and there was still some good food left.

Just after I finished my meal Squire Ava came by and once again told me Elder Maxson wanted to see me. I patted her on her shoulder and told her that she did a great job. She blushed and hugged me. Then she walked away with the biggest smile. It was contagious and I had to smile even more.

Elder Maxson was looking out of the big window front and was bobbing on his feet when I stepped into the observation deck. He hummed a tune I didn't know. But that didn't matter. Seeing him this peaceful, yeah even happy was such a rare sight. But it was good. "Elder Maxson, sir.", I said standing straight. He turned around and, what the hell?   
He SMILED!

"Ah, Knight. Glad you could make it this fast." His smile grew wider. "Is... Is something wrong?", I asked feeling frightened of his non-grumpy face. He began to laugh. A light laugh, free of any anger and stress. "No. You just gave us the entry to the Institute. You came home unharmed while doing so. Captain Kells and I agree that you need to be rewarded for such a great work for our cause. Therefore I am granting you the rank of Paladin. Ad Victoriam!"

Startled by this I just stood there and blinked. What? Maxson looked at me with his fist over his heart waiting for me to return the salute. "Ad Victoriam." I finally said returning the salute. He still smiled and turned around again to watching out the window and humming this tune again.

Speechless and deep in thoughts I went to the flight deck walking to the next Vertibird, telling the Lancer I wanted go down to the Airport. He nodded and started the engines.  
Just a moment later I was walking around pointless. Where the hell was Danse? No shouted drills nor replying Initiates that echoed Danse's words. A little panic bubbled up inside me and I started to run around the Airport. Why did I shower again?

After what felt like half of the day running around at the Airport I was called by one of the Scribes. He came running towards me before I was able to run around another round still not finding the missing Paladin and the Initiates. "Ma'am!", he saluted me while panting like a dog after chasing a squirrel, "Paladin Danse and the Initiates are at the Police Station in Cambridge." The poor Scribe had to rest his hands on his knees. He then took a bottle of water out of his many bags and gulped it down in seconds. "Aah... Much better." I chuckled at this. His face gained a deep red and he looked at the ground ashamed. "Hey, hey. No need for this okay?" I touched his shoulder and smiled. He looked at me with a weak smile and nodded. "Thank you for telling me where the Paladin went. Maybe you should go and take a little rest now, hmm?" Again he nodded. "Thanks Ma'am." and then he walked away.

As I walked back to the landing platform for the 'birds I made a decision. It was time to visit the good old Police Station again. Another Vertibird ride awaited me.

As Cambridge came into view I saw something was wrong. Red beams of laser flew into the sky. As we flew closer I also was able to hear the shooting. FUCK! The Police Station got attacked! It wasn't the casual feral ghoul attack. This time it were Gunners. What the hell did they do at Cambridge?

The Lancer flew around the perimeter over the Police Station while I manned the Minigun. It seemed like I came just at the right moment. The Gunners were overrunning the place while my brothers and sisters fell back behind the barricades.   
The fire was now focused at the 'bird flying in circles. I tried my best to gun every one of those fuckers down.   
Then I heard a whistle and shortly after I felt the shock wave. One of the Gunners had a Fatman and just missed the Vertibird by inches. "Drop me on the roof, then fly back to the Airport!", I said to the Lancer. He responded with a short "Yes Ma'am!" and then I was on the Police Station's roof. Another Mini Nuke flew over the place and exploded in a nearby building.   
Then I saw the Gunner holding the Fatman. I aimed my Laser Rifle at him and fired a whole fusion cell into him. He turned into a pile of ash while the weapon dropped with a heavy thud.

"LET'S MOVE!", a deep voice boomed over the whole place. I was looking down into the Station's compound and saw how Danse and the Initiates started to run towards the Gunners, rifles and guns ablaze.   
I ran to the stairs and then down through the building as fast as I could. The blue double door flew open as I stormed out making my way next to Danse. He looked surprised as I stood beside him, but also pleased that I was there for the right time.  
His eyes beamed at me with pride.   
Before loosing any words we nodded at each other and then gave the Gunners what they deserved. After what felt like an hour all the mercenaries laid dead as piles of ash and burnt flesh. "Collect their guns and ammo, especially that Fatman!", I ordered. After a few minutes the soldiers collected the weapons as ordered. One came with a piece of paper in his hands. "Looks like some kind of orders Ma'am", he said. I took a look at it and it was clear then.

Suddenly Haylen came running, pink tinted face and a big smile on it. "Congratulations!", she said. Danse was confused of what she meant with that. Then he said "Well thank you, Haylen. But a good initiate wouldn't get hurt at an occasion like his one." Haylen just looked at him and rolled her eyes. Then she looked at me. "Congratulations, Paladin. Ad Victoriam!" She saluted me. I returned it "Ad Victoriam Haylen!" And then we both hugged each other.   
Danse's eyes grew wide as he finally got what happened. "Wait... you got promoted?", he asked. "Yes", I was laughing. He grabbed me by my waist and kissed me in front of everyone around. The embarrassment was huge but also I felt very happy.


	16. The Gauss Rifle

Proctor Quinlan sure took his time in decoding the Courser Chip. It's been weeks since I gave the piece of tech to him. I went to visit him after a run in one of the many hospitals in Boston. For Knight Captain Cade I had some med supplies, for the Proctor some technical documents. "Ah Paladin, what do you have for me today?", he asked. I smiled at him and waved with my hands full of the documents. I collected quite a bunch of them. "This time you owe me big, Proctor.", I said chuckling. His eyes grew wide as I gave him 100 well looking documents. "What a great condition!" Quinlan beamed up. "Here, I'm sure that is more than enough to cover your efforts in bringing me this little treasures. "And he handed me five thousand Caps.   
"Well thank you, Proctor." I looked at him in disbelief.   
FIVE THOUSAND CAPS!

"Is there anything else you want, Paladin?", he then asked. "Now that you ask. I wanted to know how far you've come with decoding the Courser Chip?" "Ah, well, I am done with it. It seems like The Institute is using teleportation. I also did some tests with the signal Recon Squad Gladius catched up. And I am to one hundred percent sure that it's origins are the CIT ruins." I nodded. "They are underground.", I thought out loud. Quinlan looked at me knowing. "Does the Elder know that?", I then asked. "Yes. I already informed him." "Very well. Thank you for your time Proctor. Ad Victoriam." Quinlan started to catalogue the technical documents as I left.

With my newly earned Caps I went to Proctor Teagan. He smiled at me when he saw the big bag full of Caps. "Paladin! Nice to see you. What can I do for you?" He wore a wide smile and leaned against the counter of his room. I smiled back at him. "Hi there Teagan." I said eyeing the Gauss Rifle behind him. "Can I see the beauty behind you?" He looked behind him and his grin grew even wider as he grabbed the Rifle. "Sure. There you go." I took it and instantly bonded with it. Teagan placed some 2mm ECs on the counter. "The ammo's on me lovely.", he winked at me as I paid the Caps. "Thank you Proctor.", I said as I left heading back to my quarters.

The Gauss Rifle in my hands itched to be tested. I just needed a jacket and the fun could begin. Down at the Airport was a shooting range with different targets. The Airport staff was interested in seeing the Rifle in action. As I approached the shooting perimeter the same Initiates from Cambridge and Danse were there taking some shooting lessons. When they saw me they stood to attention. "At ease." I said. The Initiates looked at me with quizzical looks in their faces. Some of them pointed with their fingers at the Rifle in my hands and were whispering to the ones next to them. "Seems like someone wants to test a weapon?", Danse said grinning.

The target was clear. Aim and shoot. The first shot was weird. The sound the Rifle made brought out some 'Ohs' and chuckles from the Initiates. Okay, again. Aim and shoot. This time I concentrated on a further standing target. My finger lingered on the trigger. Then I heard and felt how the Rifle was loading. I pulled the trigger.  
BOOM! The target burst into tiny bits and pieces. Everyone, yes even Danse included, jumped at the sound of the Rifle. I couldn't contain the laughter erupting from the depths of my stomach. Almost everyone standing around rubbed their necks or waved through their hair. It was so funny I almost dropped the Rifle. Instead I dropped myself on the ground holding my belly and rolling like a turtle on it's back.

Danse stood above me, ears and face red and his arms crossed in front of his chest. He tapped with his foot and waited for me to calm down. I sat up swishing off the tears I cried out of laughter and looked at him. "You okay Danse?", I asked him while sniffing to contain any more laughter. He held down one hand to help me get up and I took it. "Yes I am.", he said in a low growl. Oh boy, he's angry... 

With a sharp jolt of his arm I was standing and almost tripping again right into his chest. He held me close and whispered into my ear "May I use your Rifle too one day?" I looked at him as his eyes were filled with amusement. He smiled. I almost burst into another laughter but made it to be just a chuckle. "Of course honey."


	17. Mass Fusion

It was a well kept secret that Liberty Prime was in the making. Several scavenging teams were out in the Commonwealth to retrieve parts to rebuild the giant robot. It took some days to get all the parts. Only one was missing now. A Beryllium Accelerator. The only one known about was at the Mass Fusion Building. Proctor Ingram was eager to help get the Accelerator in our hands.

The fight between her and Elder Maxson wasn't one of quiet words as she asked for his permission to retrieve the needed part. He told her over and over again that she wasn't fit enough for field duty. Ingram on the other hand had a completely different view of this point.

Ingram came by later that day and pulled me behind some crates and whispered in a low voice "No matter what he says, I am going with you! You need me, we both know that." Oookay... Why did I know that this had to be my job..? "Fine.", I said "But Danse has to go with us then. I'm sure he'll be eager to retrieve such an important piece of tech for the Brotherhood." Ingram nodded in agreement. "Very well. When do you want to start then?", I asked her. "As soon as possible. Now would be the best." I just looked at her. Then I nodded too.

As our ways 'parted', Ingram walked back to maintenance. I waited a little then I followed her. Danse was also there tinkering at his Power Armor. I walked right behind him, got down and grabbed him by his hair.   
He jumped so hard that he bumped into me and we both fell down, he on me and I laughed. Danse's face turned scarlet as he turned around. His face immediately switched to a grin when he recognized who he fell on, face still red. "Hi there.", I giggled, holding him at his shoulders. He stood up and pulled me with him.

Still holding his shoulders I looked him in the eyes and asked him if he wanted to come with me to Mass Fusion. His eyes were beaming as I told him what I wanted there. "But there's one thing that might bother you.", I told him in a quiet voice. "Proctor Ingram wants to come with us, no matter what." He looked me deep into my eyes and his expression was serious. Then he looked over to Ingram and suddenly nodded. "Okay. The more the better. I am not really pleased with that but if Ingram is eager to do something she will do it. No matter what."

Later that day we built up a team which we knew could keep the secret of Ingram's active part on this mission. We had luck that also a Lancer was on board so we were able to meet at an other location as the Airport. Elder Maxson wanted a briefing for the mission were he also wanted to know who was in the team. "I hope you don't support Proctor Ingram's plans in coming with you?", he asked. "No, Arthur. But as far as I know Ingram is a stubborn woman.", I answered. Maxson laughed at this. "True that my friend." Oooh what? This must have been the first time since I was with Danse that Arthur Maxson called me friend! And with this, the briefing was over. Maxson said it was our decision when to start the mission.

It was afternoon when Danse and I, yes wearing Power Armor, were on our way to the meeting point with the crew. There was even a second Vertibird awaiting us. Ingram was already there with a huge ass smile on her face. "Alright!", she said. "Let's go!"

The flight to Mass Fusion was quiet. Until the building was in sight. "Shit!", I cursed. "Synths!" "OPEN FIRE!", Danse shouted. Hell would be a fun park after this. Blue and red laser beams flew through the air mixed with bullets from the 'birds Miniguns. "Clear the roof, we need to land.", came the order. "Affirmative!"   
The Vertibirds flew in circles around the building. The Synths on the roof soon were history and we were able to land. Inside Mass Fusion was another story...

First we needed to find a key to activate the elevator, then, even more Synths. The whole place was overrun by them. It seemed like they were there for the same reason as the Brotherhood.

The elevator was slow. On every floor we passed were orders shouted. Red and blue lasers lit up the whole place. Ingram, Danse and I had our hands full with covering behind each other while taking out as much Synths as possible. Just before the end of the elevator ride the Synths cut off the energy and we fell down the last two floors. Glass splinters flew around us as the platform crashed down to the ground.  
Darkness welcomed us. Only the sparks of the broken elevator flickered and showed the destruction. "Everyone's okay?", I asked into the dark. Danse grumbled as he stood up. But Ingram didn't say a word.

I flicked on the light on my helmet and looked around. Ingram sat on the floor and looked up to me. Her face was one of fear. I gave her my hand and she took it. "Seems like Maxson was right...", she mumbled. I looked at her and shook my head. "No he wasn't. Look, we've come this far and we WILL get that Beryllium Accelerator!" Ingram smiled and brushed herself off. She grabbed her Rifle and we walked on.   
On our way down to the main reactor we found a terminal to switch on the power. The lights flicked on and our walk was much easier now.

Synths were hearable from each room we passed. We took them down as fast and silent as we could. Then I heard it. "The Beryllium Accelerator must be protected."

Danse and Ingram looked at me and we all nodded. I walked into the room with the Synths "Not today, robot!" and opened fire. Five robots returned the fire. But Danse jumped besides me and the robots went down quickly.   
A huge window showed what was beneath it. The reactor room with the Beryllium Accelerator! Ingram walked in and immediately made her way to the terminal. "I'll lead you through the decontamination process, then you're on your own.", she said.  
Why did I know that this way my part, too? "Okay. Let's do this." I said and stepped into the decontamination chamber. After the process the door to the Reactor chamber opened. Radiation hit me even through my Power Armor and the Geiger Counter ticked non stop. "Make it quick!" Yeah, yeah like I don't know that... Ugh...

There was a little terminal in front of the reactor and I typed into it. The reactor opened and I was able to grab the Beryllium Accelerator. I ran the way back to the decontamination chamber and felt a huge relief as the radiation was washed away from me. I sighed.

Beeping noises. What. The. Fuck?!  
"Shit! Seems like we activated a security program. Get out!" Ingram was angry.  
Turrets were activated and threw their bullets against us. Danse was quick in taking them out. Two Aggressotrons came out of nowhere and attacked us. Whoever created them, curse you! The lasers on their faces were almost fully loaded while we filled them up with laser beams. One fell down as I shot it's knee and it splintered into tiny pieces of metal. It crawled in my way and I crashed it's head with my power armored foot. The explosion was shaking my whole body.  
Ingram took out the second one. Phew!

Then a deep rumble. Red lights flashed through the reactor's control room. "SENTRY BOT!", we screamed in unison. Everyone tried to hide as best as possible. The Sentry Bot scanned the area. He muttered something in his robotic voice and then "Target acquisition done. Ready to shoot." FUCK!   
I could hear him charge his weapons. Then I heard something else. The clanking of Power Armor was audible. Danse stood in front of the bot and shot at it. Always playing the hero... he looked at me and pointed to the back of the bot. I nodded.   
The Sentry Bot needed some cool down time before it was able to attack again. Ingram and I used the time to shoot it from behind. Success! The bot overcharged and was going to explode. "DANSE! TAKE COVER!", I screamed and almost got hit by the blast myself.

We all felt the shock wave and the light radiation. Time to leave this godforsaken place!   
As we made our way upwards to the main entrance battle was hearable. Seems like our teammates called for reinforcements. Good.   
We went to help them take each and every Synth down.

The night was cold and clear as we stepped out of the Mass Fusion building. A Vertibird already awaited us. Back at the Prydwen we were greeted by Elder Maxson himself. An unpleasant grimace on his face foreshadowed the trouble we were in.

Oh bloody hell...


	18. Liberty Prime / The CIT Ruins

"Liberty Prime is online.", it echoed over the Airport.

"Voice module online. Audio functionality test initialized. Designation: Liberty Prime."

"All systems nominal."

"Weapons: hot."

Mission: the liberation of Anchorage, Alaska. Primary Targets: any and all Red Chinese invaders. Mission: the destruction of any and all Chinese communists."

And Liberty Prime started to walk out of the Airport straight into the direction of the old CIT Ruins followed by the Brotherhood of Steel and it's leader Elder Arthur Maxson.  
The Synth attack was heavy but the giant robot threw his Mk 28 Nukes at them which Danse and I recovered from the Sentinel Site Prescott at the Glowing Sea.

At our way to the Ruins were also Mutants and Raiders. They caused no problems at all. The area around the old CIT was crowded with more Synths and even Coursers. Maxson was at the front line with his huge Gatling Laser and thinned the lines of robots in seconds. Danse and I were right behind him, defending his life.

Liberty Prime threw one of his Nukes onto the area right in front of the half ruined building. A huge explosion shattered the ground and a hole opened up. Our way into The Institute!  
We dropped in one by one and fought our way through the corridors deeper into the underground building. Turrets and Gen1 Synths attacked us, but they died faster then they were able to reload their guns. The way we went led us through a wing called 'Robotics'. It was a ruined place which lead to another one called 'Bioscience'.

"Paladin!", Maxson called out in between. "Here take this Fusion Pulse Charge, place it at the reactor. Then get the hell out of here!" "Understood, Elder.", I replied while stuffing the device into my Power Armor. There were fresh green plants and synthetic animals called Gorillas at the lab. Scientists ran around in panic, others had guns in their hands and tried to attack us.

A loud cry of pain rang to my ears as I saw how one of the Gorillas stomped over one of the Scribes and hit and scratched him until he didn't move anymore. A precise shot out of my beloved Laser Rifle through it's head and the beast laid dead on top of the fallen Scribe. The other got vaporized through the red hellish fire of Maxson's Gatling Laser.

When the last Synth went down in the lab we opened the door to an area which looked like the main hall. Blue lasers flew from all directions. My brothers and sisters in Power Armor covered us and returned the fire. A bunch of ten Synths stood in one place and shot at us as I threw a grenade towards them. Metallic parts scattered through the air and fell down with small clinking noises.   
Danse fought against three of the robots, the chest plate of his Power Armor melting a little under the fire from his foes. He rapidly shot them in the faces. Tiny bits flew off and others dropped down as molten metal. Soon the three Synths were history.

After that he followed me through a staircase higher into the floors followed by other soldiers which covered us. There was a room with a closed door. The word 'Director' was written on it in yellow letters. Nice, let's go kill that motherfucker!

The door opened and we stepped in. Although it was quiet in here, Danse and I were on high alert. A faint cough was audible. We went upstairs and found an old man lying in a weird looking bed. Next to him was a desk with a terminal on it. His face was full of hatred as he looked at us. "Get. Out!", he rasped. "You bastard!" Danse pointed his Rifle at him and walked slowly towards the bed. I just walked over and found a holotape in a pocket of his lab coat. "Thanks.", I said after I had the tape in hand. The old man hissed at me.

The terminal needed a password to be unlocked. So I put in the holotape and unlocked it. There were several options to choose. One was to shut down Synth units. Button pressed! Another option was to start an evacuation order. I looked at Danse and he nodded. Suddenly a loud alarm echoed through the whole building. The old man looked in disbelief as we just walked out of his room leaving him there in his bed.

'Advanced Systems' was the next target. Gladly Ingram and some other soldiers were still at the teleporter platform guiding us through this hell hole. She told us via intercom that the reactor room was just behind this section. More enemies crossed our path and more ashes laid on the floor soon after. The reactor room laid before us. Coursers protected the reactor but with the help of the Elder and his Gatling Laser they weren't a tremendous thread. Our fire power was overwhelming for the humanoid robots. Next to the reactor was a table with a terminal on it. With a few clicks the radiation sweep was activated and the reactor's shield disabled.   
I was nervous now as I opened the door to the reactor. I planted the Fusion Pulse Charge as careful as possible with my shaking hands and closed the door again. Ingram's voice was audible again and she informed us that she was going to teleport us out.

Shortly after the air felt electric and with a loud zap a blue lighting stroke our forces and as we opened our eyes again we were at the top of the Mass Fusion Building. I looked around. Everyone was here. All my brothers and sisters, Ingram, the Elder and Danse.

"It is time, Paladin." Elder Maxson gave me a little remote with a red button on it. I looked at it then at him. "It should be your honor to destroy these bastards and their ungodly creations!" I nodded. My hands were trembling so much I thought I drop the remote. Danse took my hands in his and looked me in the eyes. We both nodded our heads, looked to the ruins and together we pressed the button.   
A giant explosion erupted deep down from the ground, the trees around the area were bend to the sides as a huge mushroom cloud formed and rose to the sky. Even this far away the shock wave made us stumble over our own feet and we all had to take a step back to not fall down. Arms were risen over heads, others ducked themselves behind the railing of the roof. As the shock wave faded we stared in disbelief.

We made it!

Maxson put a hand on my shoulder, squeezed it and smiled at me. Then he let go and went into the building, my brothers and sisters following him. Danse and I were still standing there holding hands. "We should go before we have to walk back to the Airport", he said with a little smile. I kissed him on the cheek and chuckled. "Yeah, you're right." then we headed down following the others.


	19. Unfortunate Revelation

_Knock. Knock. Knock._

Danse grunted. He laid on his stomach, one arm wrapped around me. He moved a little and fell back into soft snores.

_Knock. Knock. Knock._

I looked at my alarm clock. Midnight. Who the hell is knocking at this damn time?  
I stood up and went to the door. "Yes?", I said as I suppressed a yawn. Ingram stood there, face pale and serious. "Follow me.", she just said as she started to walk away. She led me to a desk with a terminal on it, it's green glow shining through the darkness surrounding us. "I thought you should see this. As you all were busy with killing those abominations I downloaded data about Synths who escaped The Institute. Look at this." She scrolled through some files and then gave the sight free to me. I sat down and looked through the codes.   
A lot of Synth names popped up, all similar to each other. Only two were different.

"AX7-49...", I whispered and clicked on the file.   
 _Codename: Akira. Special Autonomous Unit to hunt down and bring back AWOL coursers. Current Status: AWOL._

Okay. Next one.

_M7-97, Codename: Danse. Infiltration Unit. Current Status: Unknown._

Oh. Bloody. Fucking. Hell!

I looked at Ingram. "That... That can't be...", I said. My hand flew to my mouth. Tears welled up in my eyes as she closed her eyes and shook her head. "I already checked it. There's also a blood sample which is exactly the same as Danse's. I am so sorry sweetheart." No. no no no no! That can't be! "Does Maxson know?" A single tear found it's way down my cheek. "No. I wanted you to see this first before I tell him." I looked at her "Delete it. Or destroy it. I don't care what you do, but Maxson shouldn't,  _can't_  see that!" Ingram looked like she got struck with a sledge hammer. "What?", she said. "No, I can't. This is some important information."

Anger flared up in me. I needed to get that holotape somehow. I needed a distraction maneuver. Loud voices piped up. Seems like some of the soldiers partied too hard after The Institute was destroyed. They came nearer and nearer. They sang, err slurred some lyrics I couldn't understand. Bottles crashed together and the screams of joy grew louder and louder as they came our way. Perfect timing!

"Ah god damnit! They  _will_  regret this tomorrow!", Ingram said as she stomped away to take care of the drunken soldiers. I exited the files from the holotape and ejected it from the terminal. Oh lucky me! There was lying another one around which I inserted into the terminal. It showed some reports Ingram already wrote down. I opened one and then waited for Ingram to return.

As she came back she had red cheeks and was grumpy. She looked at me and said that it was better if I go. I just nodded, said good night to her and then left. When she was out of sight I ran back to my quarters.

Danse was awake, of course... He looked at me with half opened eyes and asked what was up. "Nothing that can't wait until tomorrow. Let's go back to sleep, come on.", I said and smiled at him. He scratched at his beard and yawned. I slipped back into bed and got wrapped in strong arms immediately.   
"Danse?" I laid a hand on his cheek. "Mmh?" He looked me in the eyes. "I love you." A soft smile played around his lips. "I love you too." We kissed each other and fell asleep again.

After a dreamless night we woke up with heavy bones. As soon as my brain was fully functional I felt the urge to check the holotape again. Gladly Danse went to get a shower without saying a word and I was alone. I walked over to the desk and put the holotape into our terminal. I clicked through the files and then found the right one. Danse's name was highlighted under the cursor and I clicked delete.  _"Are you sure you want to delete this file?"_ The terminal asked. Yes I am you dumb computer!! A breath escaped my mouth I didn't know I was holding and a smile rose on my face. Danse is safe now. No one has to know this, not even him.

Suddenly Ingram came back into my mind. I had to put the holotape back or I could give it Maxson myself. Decisions, decisions... Ah suck it, I'll give it Maxson myself. 

But first, shower time! Time to get rid of those clothes and join the love of my life in a "hot" shower. 


	20. Bad / Good diagnosis

Weeks have passed. The Commonwealth was a safer place now. People laughed again, felt free. The Minutemen took care of Raider gangs which terrorised settlements all around the 'wealth. The Brotherhood of Steel was still there, killing Mutants, Feral Ghouls and left over Synths.

Arthur Maxson was as relaxed as someone in his position could be. Every time I walked past the observation room he hummed to the tunes on the radio someone placed on a table there. One day I couldn't contain a chuckle and he noticed me.   
"Oh hey, come in.", he said smiling and held out a hand to me. I followed his invitation thinking he wanted to tell me something important. When I was in reach he grabbed my hand and swirled me around until I bumped into him.   
I already felt sick to my stomach some time now, but that surpassed everything. He had a look in his face I never saw before.

Before I could say or do a thing he started to dance with me.  _What?!_    
His eyes lingered on my face and traced down to my lips. Oh god no... He fell into a slow dance and came closer. "Arthur, no...", I whispered as his nose lightly touched mine. He closed his eyes and it happened. Elder Arthur Maxson kissed me.   
It was too late that I smelled alcohol on him. Nausea rose pretty fast in me and I struggled to free me from Arthur's grasp. I slapped his face with as much force I could bring up and took a step away from him. He touched his reddening cheek and looked at me. "I... I'm sorry...", he said. I shook my head and left as fast as possible. I needed some fresh air.

I ran to the next railing at the flight deck and puked hard. Poor soldier who was on guard shift down at the Airport. I felt a little better but still stayed outside for a longer while. The sun was shining and a light breeze let my hair fly around my face.

After what felt like an eternity I went back inside the Prydwen. I needed a shower. When I stood in front of my door a letter was pinned there, my name written on it. I took it and went inside my quarters. I laid it down on the desk and went to the bathroom. The water was hot and felt so good. All that dirt that stuck on me was washed away with smooth swishes and lots of soap. I still felt nauseous and thought about going to Cade.

A few droplets of water dripped down from my still wet hair on the infirmary's floor as I sat in front of Cade's desk. I told him that I felt sick for at least two weeks now, that I lost my appetite and that my abdomen felt strange. He looked at me and said that he wanted to check my blood pressure and wanted to take a blood sample. He said he already had a diagnosis but didn't want to tell me until he was one hundred percent sure. So he took a bit of my blood and said that I should come back tomorrow. Until then he ordered me to stay around the Prydwen and the Airport and not to lift heavy weights.  _Oookayyyy..._ Now I really was suspicious. A thought formed in my head. No,  _THAT_  can't be!

I totally forgot that letter in my quarters. I just remembered it again after I saw it lying there. I was alone and opened it. It was short.  
  


_Dear Juki,_

_I am so sorry about what happened earlier today. I didn't thought that I drank THAT much yesterday to do what I did. I hope we can keep this as a secret._

_But still, I have to admit that I always felt something for you that was more than just friendship. Too sad you never look at me like you look at Danse..._   
  


_Arthur_   
  


_PS: Be proud. No one ever made it to hurt me. My cheek is swollen and bruised now..._   
  


I didn't know if I should be shocked or amused. But there was one thing I knew. I needed to hide that letter from Danse. Or maybe I should show it to him? I was darn sure he would ask me if I knew what happened to Arthur's face if they meet again. I already was curious in which lie the Elder would tell Danse.

The next day my first way led me to Cade. As soon as he saw me he wore the biggest smile I ever saw on him. "Hey Cade, what's up today?", I asked him. "Well I have some very good news for you.", he answered. "Congratulations Paladin. You're pregnant." And then he hugged me.

Danse just came home from a mission and was freshly showered as I came back into our quarters. "I need to tell you something.", I said before he was able to greet me. He stopped right in his track and looked at me. I felt how tense he was, his face a serious expression. "What happened?", was his question. Tears welled up my eyes as I said "Danse, I'm pregnant."


	21. Happy Ending?

"What?"   
He dropped his coffee mug. It hit the floor and scattered into tiny bits of ceramic. Hot coffee flew in all directions. I looked at him. Tears slowly streamed down my cheeks. "Since two weeks. That's why I feel sick. I'm pregnant."   
Within two big steps he was at my side and held me. I started to shake uncontrollably as he hugged me to his chest. He lightly stroke my hair as he tried to comfort me. I didn't know if I should feel happy or totally devastated.   
My feet gave up and Danse lifted me into his strong arms. He walked to our bed and put me down carefully. Then he sat down next to me and softly kept stroking my head.

"I never thought that I am going to be a dad.", he said more to himself. I swept my tears away and looked at him. "Why?", I asked with a hoarse voice. He scratched the back of his head and took a deep breath. "Uhm... because as a soldier, you know, I never thought that I would fall in love with someone. Never though I'd have the time for that. Or that there would be someone feeling the same for me..." He looked away blushing. I sat up and took his sweet face into my hands. "Danse... maybe you never met the right person? We've been together for almost two years now. I couldn't imagine anyone else by my side than you. Or anyone else being the father to my child." I smiled at him. I finally knew that I was going to be fine. To be happy. "I love you. And nothing will ever change that." I bit my lip as I looked him deep into his brown eyes. "I love you too. For ever." He kissed me and said that I should get some rest. I nodded and laid back down, nuzzling myself into the blanket. I fell asleep while Danse cleaned up the coffee mess.

Some hours later I woke up and felt a little weak. I was hungry and totally thirsty. I stood up and fetched me some purified water and drank it in just a few swigs. Much better. Time for some food. I put on some more comfortable clothes and went to the mess hall. It was noon and most of the soldiers were already eating and chatting.   
The food didn't taste good today. But now I knew that it was the pregnancy's fault. Still I ate my whole plate. Cade would be proud.

On my way back I did a visit at Proctor Quinlan's office. He had a fine collection of books. He gave me some with a smile. I waved at him and then I went back. Unfortunately my path crossed with Maxson. I took a deep breath and signaled him to follow me. I opened the door and walked to my desk to put down the books from Quinlan.   
"What do you want, Arthur?", I asked him. He was taken aback of my tone. He closed the door and kept standing there. "Did you tell him?", was his asked answer. "No, why should I? I have more important stuff to do than talking about this." He looked at me like I slapped him again. "What?" I took a step towards him "I'm pregnant Arthur!" I crossed my arms in front of my chest. Arthur stared at me in disbelief. "Oh... Well, congratulations Juki." He opened the door and left in a hurry.  _Ugh..._  
But finally it was quiet enough so I was able to dedicate myself to the books. I took one and laid down at the bed. The book was about the old times before the great war. I never knew that cars were meant to drive on the roads. They even had working TVs two hundred years ago. Nice!

I woke up as I heard some rumbling. The book I was reading laid on my stomach. I stood up and went to the door. I opened it just before a power armored soldier knocked. "Yes?", I said. The soldier jumped a little but stood at attention immediately. "Paladin. I am here to tell you that Paladin Danse wishes to speak to you down at the Airport."  _Huh?_  "Okay..." I wanted to walk out the door as the soldier presented me a little box. "He wants you to take this before we head down." I took the box and opened it. A wonderful blue dress laid in it. I went into the bathroom to get dressed. I thought about doing something with my hair. I combed it and made a pony tail. Gladly I found some jewelry one day and put it on. It was a nice necklace with matching earrings. I walked back to the door. "Ready."

The whole Airport was filled. The whole Brotherhood of Steel was there. Even Haylen walked around. She waved at me and I waved back. A loud gunshot was audible. Everyone was looking to where it came from.

Danse stood there dressed in a black jumpsuit with matching armor. He looked so good. I didn't know what was up, then he walked towards me. "Juki" he said as he knelt down. He held a little box in his hand and opened it. A little ring blinked out of it. "You're the love of my life. You're going to be the mother of my child. I can't imagine a life without you anymore. Juki, will you marry me?"

_Oh. My. God!_ He took my hand and looked at me. "Oh Danse, of course I want to marry you. I love you!" Then he put the ring on my finger and stood up. We kissed each other and the whole Airport burst into screams of joy. Haylen came running and hugged us. "Congratulations!", she shouted, a huge smile on her face.

That was the happiest day of my life. 


	22. Hosptial visit

Knight Captain Cade declined my requests for active field duty. He said "A pregnant soldier doesn't belong to the battle field. She belongs to safety where she can be monitored if necessary." Yeah thanks doc... At least he allowed me to visit the Police Station in Cambridge. But only because he trusted Haylen enough to take care of me.   
I was at six months now, my belly prominently round.

I opened the door and walked down the stairs into the main room of the Police Station. Haylen's smile grew wide as she saw me and hugged me carefully but still tight enough. "Hello little baby.", she cooed as she softly touched my round middle. I asked her what was new and her cheeks gained a red that almost matched the color of her hair. "When I told Rhys that Danse asked you to marry him he almost couldn't believe it." She chuckled and fidgeted with something at her hands. Then I saw it. My eyes grew wide as I looked into her flustered face. "Oh no he didn't!", I said, impressed that Rhys would ever take such a step. Haylen nodded. "Oh congratulations! I am so happy for you." I hugged her and smiled the biggest smile since my own wedding. Then we both giggled like little girls as she told me how he did it.

Speaking of the devil Rhys came around a corner, his face not one of amusement. I jumped up and ran over to him, embracing him in a wild hug. "Hey ya old charmer. Congratulations!" I slapped him on his arm and smiled wide. His ears blushed in a deep red which reached over his neck into his face. He mumbled something, nodded and then walked away.   
To be honest, we never had the best of relationships, not even now that I outranked him. But after all he treated me with respect.

The day here was nice and nothing big had happened. Only two or three feral ghouls found the way into the compound. The guards outside took them out silent and quick. In the evening we radioed for a Vertibird to take me back to the Airport.   
As the 'bird arrived I said my goodbyes to everyone. Even Rhys waved back, still blushing as he looked into my direction. Haylen helped me to get into the Vertibird. She said that she was looking forward to our next meeting. "Ad Victoriam, Sister!", she said. "And I mean it. You are like a sister to me." "Thank you Haylen. The feeling's mutual.", I said smiling as the 'bird ascended into the air. I sat back and hoped for an uneventful flight.

I drifted off into a little nap as a loud rumbling woke me up. As I opened my eyes the sky started to turn green. The air filled with electricity and rads. Damn I hated rad storms. "Ma'am we can't stay in the air. We need to go down.", the lancer said. "Okay", I replied swallowing. Gladly there was a hospital right under us. We landed safely and rushed inside just as lighting hit near us. The electric thunder made the hair on my arms stay up in a tingling sensation. Although it was always safe for me to travel, Danse insisted that I always took Righteous Authority with me. He often said "There's so much danger outside. Believe me when I say that you'll need it one day."   
God he was right.

As we descended further down into the hospital we heard voices. They weren't human nor robotic. They belonged to Supermutants. Oh fuck it!   
The two knights who were escorting the lancer and myself told us that we should stay behind. "Ma'am, we are sure that you are more skilled than we are. But Cade told us extensively that we have to take care of you. I shook my head while rolling my eyes. "Fine.", I said as I crossed my arms.

The knights went on while the lancer stayed behind with me. I could tell he didn't feel good standing in a building which was inhabited by those abominations. The minutes flew by in silence. But then suddenly a howl was audible. Damn mutated dogs! It wouldn't take long for them to reach us. A gunfight went down. I heard a lot of splattering, turning my senses on high alert. I propped my rifle and switched off the safety. The lancer copied me and stood vigilant.

Just as I couldn't stay still any longer I heard a faint beeping. It seemed like the knights were winning the fight. They were pretty far down now. Without hesitation I started to follow them. The lancer looked at me in silent shock. "Come on! There's a suicider down there. We have to eliminate him before he's able to blow up the whole building!" The lancer only nodded as he followed my lead.   
Every floor was littered with dead mutants and big puddles of blood. The further we descended the more Power Armor pieces laid around. The beeping grew louder and then finally I saw that bastard. I opened fire and shot the mutant into the legs. It got crippled pretty bad and the nuke it held rolled away. One final shot the head and the mutant was dead.

A mutated dog came running towards me. Just in the last moment I stepped aside as it tried to rip me apart. The lancer shrieked in panic as he fled back some steps. The knights and I killed it quickly. I couldn't contain a laugh as the poor man started to puke violently. I wiped the tears out of my eyes and collected myself again. "Okay soldiers, since we are already here we also can search for medical supplies." "Affirmative!", the knights said. "But before I send you out. Is anyone of you hurt?" "No, Ma'am." "Alright. Then let's go."

Half an hour later the knights had their hands full with medical supplies. Even the lancer carried some stuff, his face still pale. The rad storm did fade at some time we were inside the hospital. Back at the Prydwen we went straight to the infirmary. Cade's eyes flicked up to me as he heard us walk in. "Ma'am I am glad that you bring back stimpaks and other supplies. But why are you covered in such an amount of dirt and blood?" I sighed, sat down and told him what had happened. I lied to him as I said that the lancer saved my life and not vice versa. A smirk formed on my lips as I said that to Cade. He just nodded and thanked the lancer for his help. The poor guy looked at me in disbelief. I winked at him and shrugged. "Okay, since you are in a good condition you all are dismissed." "Thank you, Knight Captain!", I said and saluted him.

As I walked out of the infirmary and on my way to the quarters the lancer catched up on me. "Ma'am, please wait.", he said. "What is it?", I asked. "Why did you lie to Cade?" I smiled at him and laid a hand on his shoulder. "You know, I once was like you. Afraid of green canines and their awful smell. And you know what kind of trouble Cade would make if he finds out that I saved you. He would tell Maxson and he definitely would kick you out then." The lancer shuddered thinking about that. I gave him a warm smile. "You're welcome." Then I patted him and walked my way. "Thank you Ma'am", he said before I opened the door. I waved at him as I stepped inside.

I closed the door smiling to myself.

"Ad Victoriam, Paladin."


	23. Who am I?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sooo i want to write a little warning here.   
> Yes, that's the chapter with rape in it. It's not graphic i guess, but still... i'm not a fan of writing such stuff...  
> But my personal mood said "DO IT!"   
> So yeah... Enjoy..?

"Ad Victoriam, Paladin."

His voice in the dark made me shiver. Since the day Danse proposed to me Maxson did his best to avoid me. I did the best to do so too.   
Why the hell was he here and how the hell did he open the door? I turned on the light. I looked in the face of a beaten man. He didn't look like 22 anymore. My nose catched the smell of alcohol. I still stood at the door ready to open it and run away if I'd sense a sight of the wrong move.

He sat in a chair, elbows resting on the armrests, his fingers crossed at their tips. His gaze was blurry. He didn't move or say any other thing.  
"Why are you here Arthur?", I asked him then. He just stared holes in the air. "If you have nothing else to say then please go."

Suddenly he stood up and walked towards me. I wanted to open the door so he could go. He slammed the door back into it's hinges, his hand still on it looking at me with that blurry gaze. Something in his demeanor changed, I could feel it. Short breaths made his chest heave quick. His other hand came to a rest on my cheek. He looked into my eyes, his own changing into a soft gray. "Arthur..?", I tried to speak to him. Before I was able to say something else he reached out with his hand and slapped it across my face. My back smacked against the wall behind me. Pain flared through me in hot waves. I felt how blood trickled down my nose.

Arthur came closer and started to rip off my clothes. I tried to stop him by hitting and scratching him. He didn't care. He threw my arms to my sides. I looked at him in shock as he started to shrug off his coat and getting rid of his uniform. "Arthur, no..."He held a hand on my mouth. I tried to put it away. He was too strong.   
Tears filled my eyes as he made his way into me. Defenseless I stood there as he raped me into a high stadium of pain. I cried and cried as he thrusted into me with harshness. His mouth found it's way to mine. He silenced my crying with hard kisses and he even bit me in the lip until I tasted blood.

As he finished he put back on his uniform and his coat, stepped out and just walked to his quarters, slamming his door. I felt blood and sperm dripping down my collapsing legs as I started to sack against the wall. Silent cries turned into loud ones until I screamed out my lungs.  
I heard someone running my way trying to talk to me. I just felt how I got lifted clinging to that person and screaming in agony. Some time later I lost my consciousness.

 

 

Beeping. Where did it come from? Where am I?  _WHO_  am I? I don't know...   
I felt my yes flutter and opened them. I found myself laying in a bed. IVs in my arms made moving difficult. What had happen that I was here?

"Paladin!" a voice out of my eye sight said. Then a man came towards me. Bald but with a kind smile on his face. "How are you feeling?", he asked. "I... I don't know. Good, I guess." He then put out a clipboard and wrote something on it. "I want to make some tests with you. Is that okay for you Ma'am?" "Uhh... Sure..."   
He checked my reflexes and looked into my eyes. He nodded. "Ca you tell me what happened to you?" His face turned into a worried one. "Sir, I'd be glad to help, but honestly I don't know." Suddenly the man's expression turned dark. "I thought so...", he said. "I need to ask you some questions now. And I want to you to answer me in all honesty. Do you understand that?" I wondered what caused his demeanor to change into this. But I tagged along with it.

"Do you know where you are?"  
"In a hospital?"  
"Do you know your name?"  
I blushed. "I... I don't know."  
"I understand...", he then said I thoughts.  
"Ma'am I am sorry to say, but it seems like you lost your memory."  
"What?!", I said shocked. I shook my head as I started to cry.   
Crying... I know I cried.   
"I am going to leave you alone now. Maybe you want to see your husband later?", the bald man asked. Unsure of what to say I just nodded. "Alright. I will send someone out for him."

Then I fell back into sleep.


	24. Who are you?

_Pain. All I can feel is pain. The taste of blood lingering on my tongue. I can smell alcohol. I see a color. It is... gray. Yes... I hear screams of pain. I can taste the saltiness of tears. MY tears. But why? Why do I feel, see, smell and taste all that?_

_What happened? Was that all just a dream?_

 

A hand laid on mine. So warm and caring. Who did it belong to?   
As I opened my eyes they met with deep brown ones filled with sorrow. Tears filled them up before they fell down. I tracked them down that gorgeous face until they got lost in the man's stubbled cheeks. "Hey there.", he rasped. A small sad smile forming on his lips. He squeezed my hand. "Uhm... Hi.", I said with a shy smile, feeling a little uncomfortable as he kept squeezing my hand. "Juki. How are you feeling?", he then asked. I looked at him. Startled by that name. "So... that's my name, huh? I guess I'm okay." I tried to free my hand. He noticed and looked down to our hands. Then he blushed a little. "I'm sorry. Cade said that you lost some of your memory." He then let go of my hand. I put it down into my lap and folded it with the other. "If you need anything, please let me know." He looked me in the eyes. "Well thank you. But who am I going to call if I need anything?" His gaze dropped. 

He sat there, shoulders hanging low and his eyes looking at the floor. I saw him shaking as he tried to suppress his sobbing. "Hey look at me." I don't know why but I reached out for him my hand brushing his cheek. Startled by that he looked up, tears again filled his eyes. "Please, don't cry because of me. I'm sure that one day I will remember who you are." I gave him a reassuring smile still holding my hand against his cheek. As he held his hand I saw a ring on it. I remember that I saw it a lot. He held my hand as he leaned into my touch. "I'm sure you will...", he said softly. "Until then, I am Danse." He stood up and left. A few minutes later I thought that I heard someone far away screaming and hitting against a wall. Was it him? Oh god why did I feel so sorry for him...

 

All I did here was trying to remember what had happened to me. it's been seven days since I woke up. Cade – the bald and kind man – told me that a knight found me screaming until I passed out, covered in blood with a bruised cheek and a chapped lip. He said he also found another fluid between my legs. He also said that my unborn child wasn't harmed by the rape. Wait... Rape?  _What the fuck??_  
It happened four weeks ago. Three weeks that I've spent in a comatose sleep because my body and mind collapsed after...  _that..._

  
He fidgeted around as I asked him who the father was but still looked at me. "You might have forgotten that he's your husband, but Danse is also the father of your child." Despite the fact of me gotten raped, Cade's words really made me smile. He let out a breath and his eyes glistening as he smiled at me.

Danse was visiting. He brought me a box of Fancy Lads Snack Cakes. He totally knew how to treat me right. I liked him a lot for that. And knowing he was my husband, oh I could imagine why I fell in love with him. 

Even now the butterflies started to fly in my stomach. I gave him one of the cakes and we brushed our hands a little. I chuckled and felt how my cheeks turned pink. Danse looked at me with his warm eyes. Still holding my hand with the cake I it. We both enjoyed the moment. He slowly came closer and took my other hand. "Juki, no matter what happened or will happen, be sure I'm always by your side. I..." He looked me straight into the eyes. The butterflies in my stomach creating a tornado. He sighed. "I love you. Remember that. Always." I squeezed his hands, almost mushing the cake we still both held. "I know. I also know that you mean just so much to me. I love you too."   
We both had tears in our eyes as we finally set the cake free and kissed each other.

I remembered. 


	25. Remember

I called out for Cade. He immediately was there and asked me if something was wrong. "No, all's good. But I finally can remember how it happened." Cade almost dropped his clip board when I told him who did it. Danse sat next to me, his hands clenched into fists. His knuckles already came out white. I also could hear how some of his fingers popped under the pressure.   
"That bastard!", Danse said through gritted teeth. "No wonder no one saw him since that. His door's always closed. If he gives out orders he only gives them via paper or mail." Cade nodded in agreement. "He'll regret this." I looked at Danse. His face was one of anger and hate. Almost like at Fort Strong years ago. This couldn't go out well...

Before anyone else was able to say something he stood up and stomped out of the infirmary. I had to struggle to keep up with him as he ran to Maxson's quarters.   
Danse didn't need power armor to break things. The metallic door to Maxson's quarters dented and burst out of it's hinges as Danse slammed his fists against it. Maxson jumped up in bewilderment. Then he saw me and his eyes grew wide in shock. Of course did he know about my mental state. Cade sent him – as ordered - regular reports about me. I walked over to him smacking my fist into his face. A loud knack revealed that I broke his nose. "You. Fucking. BASTARD!", I screamed at him as my other fist found it's way to his solar plexus. He went down with a gasp still looking at me, now with shock and fear in his eyes. I breathed hard as I stood there waiting for Maxson to make a move.

Danse laid his hand on my shoulder. The look of determination deep in his eyes. I nodded and took a step back. Then he slowly rolled up the sleeves of his jumpsuit and walked towards Maxson. Before he knew what Danse wanted to do Maxson catched a second fist in his face. Blood flew through the room as he started to cough. Cade only stood there and watched how Danse slowly but surely killed Maxson. "Danse, stop!", I called out. "That's enough!" Just as I said that Danse stopped his rampage leaving a bloody mess behind. He walked out and went to our quarters. I followed him leaving a shocked Cade behind.

"You okay?", I asked. Danse brushed his bloody knuckles. I walked over to him and took his hands in mine. He shook his head. "Yes, I'm fine." I tried to embrace him, but my belly didn't allow it that much. Danse giggled as I struggled to hug him. He softly held my belly in his hands, bend down to his knees and then placed a soft kiss at my round middle. "No matter what will happen next, I'm always there to protect you.", he said looking up at me. "Cade and I will make sure that everyone knows what had happened and why. They need to understand that Arthur Maxson is now an enemy of the Brotherhood of Steel!"  
My eyes widened as Danse said that. "...An enemy..." I held my hand to my mouth. I needed to sit down for a moment. A knock on the door startled me out of my thoughts. Proctor Ingram stood there, shock written all over her face. "What in the name of steel happened?", she wanted to know. "Get everyone together. Cade and I have to tell the Brotherhood the truth.", Danse answered. Ingram was still irritated but nodded and left immediately.

"Brothers and sisters! It's a sad day for the Brotherhood of Steel.", Danse roared over the Airport. "It is our duty to tell you that Arthur Maxson is no longer in charge of our chapter and is considered an enemy of the Brotherhood of Steel!" Soldiers gasped for air others shouted 'Why?'. Disbelief made it's round. Danse held up a hand and everyone was quiet again. "Arthur Maxson held up a hand against my wife, bruised her and raped her! That wasn't the first time he held up a hand against women. We can't tolerate abuse in our ranks. Just because he was Elder didn't mean that he can treat the men and women under his command like he did. He will be held hostage at the Police Station in Cambridge until trial is made. AD VICTORIAM!" He literally screamed our battle cry against our brothers and sisters. They echoed him with a salute.   
The respect they all payed Danse was immense.   
I was impressed by how they accepted what he had said.


	26. Ad Victoriam!

The arrest of Arthur Maxson was the ultimate topic amongst the Brotherhood. The Citadel in the Capital Wasteland was also informed and they sent their Elders for Maxson's trial. Danse and I stood at the Observation Deck to welcome them.   
Wide eyes greeted us as we saluted them. One of the elders mentioned that he was there as the Prydwen was built but never had the pleasure of being onboard at the vessel. His eyes were in awe over the ship. "Elder, if you want then we can do a little excursion around later.", I said with a confident smile. The Elder looked at me with a bright smile and said it would be a pleasure for him. His fellows nodded in agreement. "But let's first settle for a while. I'm sure the trip from the Citadel was exhausting." Again nodding.

I showed them the way to the mess hall. The soldiers stood at attention as the group of elders walked in. The soldiers greeted the men and women with a united "Ad Victoriam!" and their right hands over their hearts. The elders greeted them back. It was a breath taking moment how well my brothers and sisters acted in unison. As everyone had a place to sit down the mess staff got to work and soon everyone had a full plate of meat, tatos and carrots. Everything was silent except for the eating noises. It was strange. Normally the mess hall never was this quiet.

Suddenly I felt how the little thing in my womb moved it's arms and legs. A moan escaped my mouth as I had to rest myself against a table, a hand resting on my belly. "Is everything alright, Paladin?", one of the elders asked. I nodded and smiled. "Yes, sir. Thank you. The little one's just showing off it's fighting skills already." The elder sniggered and said that I'd gonna birth a good and strong soldier. I chuckled a little and excused myself. Squire Ava came out of nowhere, eyes blazing as she saw me. I liked the girl. She was always so determined to do her tasks to the fullest satisfaction of everyone.

Her smile grew wider the more she walked towards me. "Ma'am, may I?", she asked pointing a finger to my belly. I laughed and she squealed as she gently touched my round middle and felt the little kicks from the unborn baby. Her eyes widened as a little leg stretched my skin and touched her. She looked at me and I laughed. "That's just normal, Ava. It means the baby is alive and well." She mouthed an "Ooohh" as she listened to me. "But Ava, I'm sure you're here because of something else?" I could see how her brains was working until she nodded. "If everyone is ready we can begin with the trial. The former elder is down at the Airport.", she then told me. "Alright. Thank you, Ava."   
I softly patted her head and then turned around to the elders and cleared my throat. "Ladies and Gentlemen, I got informed that we are ready for the trial. If everyone is done eating we can head down."

15 minutes later the Airport was filled. Maxson was chained down in a platform where everyone was able to see him. Some soldiers looked shocked when they saw his appearance. His face was bruised in all colors and swollen. He didn't wear his coat nor a uniform. He stood there as a civilian. When the trial began Maxson looked pitiful.   
After all the formalities were clear the elders started to ask him questions. He looked them all in the eyes as he answered. At some point his gaze met mine. Then something happened which no one would have ever imagined.   
Tears welled up his eyes.

"Paladin, you as the latest victim of Arthur Maxson, how do you think should he be treated? Letting him live in exile, locking him up at the Police Station or execute him for the horrible thing he did to you?" My answer wasn't one of much thinking. I knew what I wanted for him. I cleared my throat.  
"He doesn't deserve to die, yet. He also won't leave the compound of the Airport. He should live so he can face the consequences of his actions. I want that Arthur Maxson will live here, no rank, no privileges. He'll live as a civilian under the eyes of my brothers and sisters." I looked around the crowd. Some soldiers were talking to each other in whispers, others nodded. "And to be clear. No one will harm him. He still is human. No one should be treated like trash. No matter what they did!"   
The whispers grew louder. One of the elders stood up and his voice boomed over the whole place as he spoke. "Soldiers! This is an order you will follow! If we hear any complaint, you too will be stripped off of your ranks! Understood?" The whole airport shouted "Sir, yes sir!" while standing at attention.  
"Very well. Then this trial is over."  
  
My gaze went back to Maxson. Tears now falling down his face. He shuddered as he tried to suppress his sobbing. "There's one thing we have to do now.", the elder boomed again. "This chapter needs a new elder." He turned to Danse. "Paladin Danse. Before we came here we already decided that you should be the new elder of this chapter. Make us proud. Ad Victoriam!"   
  
Well, that was unexpected...   
  
"And you, Paladin", the elder then said facing me. "are granted the rank of Sentinel. Wear it with pride. Ad Victoriam!"   
  
Okay  _now_ I'm really surprised.  
  
"Ad Victoriam!", Danse and I said. The whole Airport shouting in unison again as we started to walk past them. We both looked at each other.   
"Can you believe that?", I asked Danse, eyes wide. He chuckled as he shook his head. "Yeah, me neither..." 


	27. At the shack

The pregnancy went well. It was just a few days until I would go into labor. Besides Knight Captain Cade I was the only regular visitor of Arthur in his shack.   
Danse ordered the soldiers to build one so Arthur didn't have to live like a street dog. It was small but decent.  
It had a porch with a small table and two chairs. The inside was separated in three rooms. A bathroom, a bedroom and a living room. The cooking station was outside.

A scavenge team found some seeds one day and handed them to me. Since then Arthur built a nice garden on the Airport.  
Tatos, Mutfruits, Corn, Razorgrain, Carrots, even Melons and Gourd.

Arthur looked good. The farm life suited him well. And gladly the Brotherhood accepted his peace offers which were the harvested fruits of his garden. Some soldiers even talked to him from time to time.

Squire Ava often came to help him. She still adored him. Like a father. And he adored her like a daughter. And so he treated her.  
I was in awe as I saw them interact with each other. He laughed at her as he softly ruffled her hair.

At least Arthur Maxson  _had_  a soft spot in his heart.

I walked over to them with a few bottles of fresh water. Arthur pointed at me and Ava turned around. She came running. "Sentinel!", she said smiling. "Hello Ava.", I said returning the smile. She took two bottles and walked back to Arthur by my side humming a children's melody.

"Juki..."

He wanted to come closer but hesitated. Instead he stood there rubbing his neck and looking to the ground.   
"Hello Arthur. You look better.", I said. Ava held up a bottle to him. He took it and smiled at her. "How about you go play with the other squires now, mh?", I said to her. She looked at Arthur and he nodded. "Okay. Goodbye Arthur. Goodbye Sentinel.", she waved at us and trotted away. "Let's head inside." He opened the door for me.

Normally I was alone in the shack while he did his gardening work. I felt a little uncomfortable standing there with him. He motioned for me to sit down.

Before I was able to speak he broke. Tears streamed down his still bruised face as he shuddered from sobbing. "I am so sorry for what happened..." His gray eyes met mine. Truth spoke from them. And something else. Pity? Hope?

He came closer with his chair. His fingers grazed mine and rested on my finger tips. I looked down and watched every motion from him. "If I could go back in time, trust me, I'd do it. I was an idiot for hurting you. For how I did it. I don't deserve all this." He motioned with his other hand around us.

I shook my head. "Don't do this Arthur. I may never forget you. But I am not a monster. You deserve to live. You have a good thing with Ava. I know you're like a father to her. And I know she's like a daughter to you. Just don't ruin it."

Before he was able to say another thing I stood up and made my way to the door. Arthur stood up too. He held my hand and I turned around. I caressed his cheek with my other hand and kissed him. "Goodbye Arthur."   
He stood there eyes closed and his hand on his cheek.

I could hear him weeping as I walked back. I felt a tear fall down my cheek. I wiped it away and stepped into the Vertibird.   
At my arrival I felt something wet between my legs. Okay... I should go to Cade.

"Your amniotic sac has split. I prefer you'd stay here. You are now in labor."

_Oh god..._


	28. Attack / Labor

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is written in 3rd Person POV

She thought she knew pain. Until now...   
It went from bad to horrible very quickly. The groans Juki let out grew louder by every hour.   
First it was only Cade and herself at the infirmary but soon there were scribes all around the place manned with blankets, fresh cloth and hot water.   
"Paladin!", a familiar voice called out. She looked up to see Haylen standing in front of her bed. A pained smile crossed Juki's face as she saw her sister. "It'll be all good." She walked over to the chair next to the bed and sat down. She grabbed Juki's hand. "I'll make sure your baby will be safe and well."

 

Thunder roared outside as Danse was in his quarters looking at the latest reports. A scouting team reported that they've seen Synths gathering near the Airport lately. What ever they did, this was no good sign.

The vessel vibrated from the sound waves of another thunder. Wait was that thunder?   
More vibrations shook the Prydwen.  
An alarm went down. Lancer Captain Kells' voice boomed through the intercom. "To all soldiers on board. We are getting attacked! Move out and defend the Airport!"

_Fuck!_

Before Danse was able to go to maintenance to get his Power Armor one of the scribes came running. "Elder! Your wife's in labor!" "Damnit! Protect her as best as possible! I am going down to help the soldiers on the ground." The scribe nodded and ran back to the infirmary.

The hiss of the mechanisms on his Power Armor was music in his ears. Before he moved out he unlatched the rifle strapped to the metallic surface. Adrenaline flooded his system and he moved out.

Rain hit him from all sides as he looked down. Blue lasers mixed with red covered the Airport as a lightning bolt struck nearby. The thunder which roared directly afterwards shook everything.   
Then he saw it. A bunch of Synths was directly beneath him and he jumped.

Metallic sparks flew through the air as Danse crushed the Synths under his feet. Both soliders and other Synths stumbled from the impact. He immediately opened fire and the first robots went down.

 

The scream that escaped her mouth was terrifying. Haylen's hand already turned blue and she was sure that Juki broke at least one of her fingers. But she went though it like the soldiers she was. 

Cade monitored the progress Juki made. A loud rumble was heard as a lightning bolt struck nearby. Everyone looked concerned as they stood guard or helped Cade.

"The head's already poking out. Paladin, I need you to press one more time as hard as possible.", Cade said his eyes glued to the little thing between her legs. His medical gloves were covered in her blood. She did as told as another wave of pain shook her body. One last scream, the sound of a breaking bone - Haylen suppressed her own scream - and the little thing was there. It's little cries we're music in Juki's ears.   
Cade immediately rushed away with it to check that all was how it should be.   
Suddenly Juki felt how she lost conciousness. "Haylen... I..." And her head fell to the side.

Liberty Prime was shut down due to maintenance. Gladly.   
Danse was sure that the giant robot wouldn't tell apart who was friend or foe and would destroy the whole compound.   
The Airport looked more and more like a battle field. The ground was plastered with the corpses of robots and parts of Power Amor.

Danse shuddered. He was sure he heard a woman scream in agony. A Vertibird descended down from the Prydwen as he shot the last standing Synth. He jogged towards the landing 'bird as an aroused scribe screamed "Elder, hurry! It's your wife!"   
He almost dropped his rifle as he sprinted the rest of the way. With one smooth jump he was on the 'bird. "Tell me.", he said feeling his hands shake as the unknown crept into his mind. "The baby's here but your wife... she lost conciousness. Seems like she lost a lot of blood." Danse held up a hand. He didn't want to hear it.

Before the Vertibird docked in he jumped out and made his way to the infirmary as fast as possible. A scribe stood outside at guard. He pointed his gun at Danse as he stomped towards him. "Elder Danse, Sir..."   
The door flew open as he walked in. The scribes inside jumped at the sound. "Elder...", Cade started. Danse stared at him. "Sir. Please get out of your Power Armor. Then you can stay." He sighed. "You're right, Cade." He walked out and the hiss of his opening armor was audible.

He felt weak. His knees were trembling as he approached his wife. A bloodpack IV was attached to her arm.  
A second chair stood beside the bed. Haylen sat in one with a bandaged hand. She sniffled a little.   
"I... I told her everything was going to be fine. The... Then she lost too much blood. The whole bed was cov... covered." Tears fell down Haylen's face as she softly held her bandaged hand.   
Danse Put a hand on her shoulder and squeezed it gently. "Thank you for being here with her, Haylen." He nodded reassuringly. Haylen smiled a little.

Danse sat down and took one of Juki's hand in his. The storm outside was still going but lost a lot of its power. It mostly rained and thunder wasn't that much audible anymore.

' _Please wake up.'_ Danse thought. Tears filled his eyes as he softly stroke Juki's hand. She shifted a little. A small groan escaped her lips as her eyes fluttered open. "D.. Danse..?", she whispered.   
He couldn't contain himself anymore as she tried to reach his cheek. He openly cried in front of his subordinates. He stood up from the chair just to kneel down in front of the bed. He craved for her touch as she reached out for him. "Where... Where's the baby?" Juki asked.   
"Awake and well.", answered Cade's soft voice from behind her. He cradled it as he walked over. Danse stood up as Cade held it out. "Congratulations you two. It's a healthy and strong girl.", he said as he put the baby in Danse's arms.

He immediately lit up and smiled as the baby girl yawned. He walked over to the bed and sat down. Juki sat up and Danse gave the baby to his wife. "Ooh hello. I'm Mommy and this is Daddy." Juki pointed to her husband. He chuckled and a tear found its way down his cheek.

"Do you have a name for her?", Cade ask. Juki looked at Danse. His eyes filled with curiosity. But she smiled "Emilia." Cade nodded "Suits her well." And he wrote it down on his clip board.

_Welcome to your big family of_   _the Brotherhood of Steel, Emilia Danse._


	29. Confessions

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is written in 3rd Person POV

The soldiers down on the ground dragged the metallic corpses of the destroyed Synths away to scrap them later. Dead soldiers were carefully carried to the beach where others started to dig graves.

Arthur's shack gladly was at the other side of the Airport and he wasn't harmed. He tried as best to help the others and lent a shovel.   
He shook his head and thought about his fallen brothers and sisters. Before he let them down one last time he collected their Holotags in a small box. The soldiers in power armor began to bury the dead and no one had shown him attention then. Arthur thought of bringing the tags back by himself and walked to the landing platform underneath the Prydwen. The lancer saw the box in his hand and nodded as he started the 'birds engines.

Minutes later Arthur was aboard the vessel he once called home weeks ago. His way led him into the infirmary when he couldn't find Danse at the observation deck. As he opened the door he heard soft chuckles and looked into the tired faces of Danse, and Juki who was holding a little bundle in her arms. He immediately knew she was a mother now.   
For a second his mind went to a bittersweet dream where  _he_  would sit there, holding their child in his arms. Proud and loving for his wife to birth such a beautiful little creature. He felt himself smiling as he realized this would forever be a dream. The pain he felt was harsh and it felt like someone ripped out his heart.

"Arthur, what are you doing here?", asked Juki. He was startled. "Oh uhm... I... I collected the holotags of the fallen soldiers. They are already buried down at the beach. I didn't want to interrupt this..." His gaze fell to the floor, the pain unbearable to stay any longer. "Here..." He almost dropped the box he held and walked out. As the door closed he began to run to the flight deck.   
After the landing he jumped out of the Vertibird and ran back to his shack.

He didn't know how to feel anymore. He sure was happy that Juki and her baby were up and well. But seeing how Danse sat there talking sweet things to the baby in Juki's arms drove him more crazy than a hive of super mutants. She could've been his. Why did he allow them to be together? Why didn't he tell her how he felt before it was too late? And why the  _FUCK_  did he have to hurt her so much?  
Was It misguided love? Even Jealousy? He didn't know. He just knew that it hurt.

Bottles of Whiskey and Bourbon littered his shack as he tried to drink the pain away. It had been several days since he locked himself up every night. The plants growing in Arthur's garden somehow survived that he only gave them some water from time to time. Scribes had to come and do all the farming work.

Ava tried to visit him every day. He always was too drunk to spend time with her. She became frightened of him. So she went and did the right thing, she thought, by going to Cade and telling him that Arthur spoke and smelled funny. Cade rose an eyebrow as Ava told him about that. Juki was at the infirmary at the same time the squire showed up. She was worried the second she saw Ava with a frightened frown on her face. "I'll head down to talk to him. Is that okay for you?", Juki asked both Ava and Cade. Both nodded.

Knocking.  _Who the fuck knocks at this door?_  Arthur thought as a headache hit him. A second knocking. He grunted. Before he went to the door he took a deep swig from one of his bottles. His eyes hurt as he opened the door.

"I wanted you to meet Emilia. But as far as I can see you are occupied with being drunk!" Her tone was angry. He still held the bottle in his hands and looked at it then at her. Without a word she took the bottle and threw it away. It's shattering pounded in his head like the vibrating foot steps of Liberty Prime. He started to feel nauseous.  
"Excuse me...", he said as he ran behind the shack. Juki could hear how he puked and coughed. As he came back she already held up a bottle of purified water which he took with a small nod.

She sat down on one of the chairs on the porch. She thought she'd also getting drunk just by the scent she could smell from the inside. Arthur sat next to her. He didn't look at her as he fidgeted with his hands in his lap. "Tell me, what bothers you?", Juki asked. He sighed as he struggled to find the right words. She looked at him with a risen brow but waited for him to speak up. How could he tell her that he cared about her? That he was sorry? That he suffered? Hell, that he  _loved_ her?! No matter how hard he tried to find the right words he didn't find them. Another sigh.  _Screw it!_ He thought. He looked up directly into her eyes. Then he spoke.

"I love you... I care about you since I knew that there was more than just being me as your superior officer. I know it's too late to say. I wish I had said it long before... It just hurts so much that I didn't do it." He released a breath he didn't know he was holding. He closed his eyes and tried to hold back the tears forming in his eyes. He finally said it. But he didn't feel the relieve. As he opened his eyes again he saw Juki's shocked face.

She knew that he had feelings for her. But she didn't think about love. "I know...", she eventually said. Her gaze softened. She took a deep breath "Arthur, I'm sorry. For that I broke your nose. For Danse almost killing you... But I am  _NOT_  sorry for how it turned out. The elders could have said no to my will to let you live. Arthur, I saved your life! don't throw it away like that. Ava is afraid of you..."

it was now Arthur's turn to look shocked. "Ava...", he said starting to get lost in his thoughts. He sobbed as he couldn't contain the sadness anymore. He held his head in his hands as he cried bitterly. Juki didn't think as she cradled Arthur in her arms. She never saw him this devastated. She felt bad for him.   
Silent tears found their way down her cheeks as she tried to comfort the broken man in her arms. She softly stroke his back as he shuddered from another wave of sobs.

It took a while for Arthur to calm down. So they just sat there watching the sun slowly go down. "I'll be right back.", he sniffled as he went inside. Juki heard loud ramblings and was about to stand up as Arthur came back with a big box full of alcoholic beverages. "Give them to the soldiers or throw them away. I don't want... need them anymore!" Juki's eyes widened at this gesture. "I'll do.", she softly said.

Her heart warmed for him. He tried to change himself for a little girl he loved like a daughter. "I'm sure Ava will be happy about that Arthur." Juki smiled a little. That gave him hope. "You know... I don't want to give you false hopes. But there  _was_  a time I would've said yes to you..."

she softly touched his arm as she started to walk to the Vertibird, leaving behind a startled Arthur.

"I love you Juki.", he said, just loud enough for her to hear.


	30. Bonus Chapter

He woke up screaming. Beads of cold sweat ran down his forehead and he sucked in short breaths of air. “Danse, are you okay?” A sleepy voice startled him as he looked next to his side. Juki’s gaze was sleepy but concerned. He closed his eyes and shook his head. The pictures burned in his eyes. He ran a hand through his hair, it was all wet. “I need a shower…”, he simply said. Juki knew that he had a nightmare. He often rolled in bed, but it’s been months, not to say years, since he last woke up screaming.   
On his way to the shower Danse drank a bottle of water which he wished was something more strong to calm down his nerves.   
The water was hot, almost too hot. His skin turned into a red tint. His hands still shook as he shampooed his hair and beard. He really needed to trim it.

Juki walked in, undressed herself and joined Danse under the shower. “God damnit! Only a Synth can shower this hot!”, she swore. Her eyes widened as she understood what she was saying and her face turned scarlet. “What?”, Danse asked. She couldn’t say a word. Danse laughed at her and he took her in his arms. “Do you really think I don’t know that?” She looked at him, confusion rolling over. “Juki, I know that I’m a Synth. And I know that _you_ know.” He kissed her on her forehead. “How..? Oh… Ingram, right?”, it fell from her eyes like scales. “Yes. She came to me after she decoded the holotape. And I felt how the throbbing pain in my head stopped as the Institute was destroyed.” A fist hit his arm. “Hey, for what was that?” He rubbed his arm and scowled at Juki. “That, my dear, was for _NOT_ telling me! But this…” She pressed herself against him and looked him deep in the eyes. “… is for the misery I put us through.” Her gaze went down to his slightly parted lips. Her hand trailed down his cheek bone and she closed her eyes as she leaned in to kiss him. It was a slow but passionate kiss. Her tongue searched for his. The burning sensation of lust exploded in her and the kiss became more needy.   
Danse broke the kiss as he asked her if she was sure to do this. Her dazed eyes were glistening as she smiled at him. “Yes, I am very sure.” Her hands trailed down his chest, her fingernails softly grazing over his wet skin. She already could feel Danse’s excitement poking her. He was surprised when she knelt down in front of him looking up into his baffled face. Her hands were soft as they worked at him. She carefully stroked him when her mouth found it’s way around him. Danse groaned as she sucked the tip, working herself down his length. He leaned against the shower wall and closed his eyes. The water was still on and dripped down on both. Danse clenched a hand to a fist and hit the wall as he felt his release was close. He moaned Juki’s name and shuddered. She kept on sucking him biting a little as she realized he was ready. He threw his head against the wall as he came into her mouth. She licked off every drop, tasting him for the first time. His legs gave way and he slid down the wall, now sitting under the hot water. He gasped for air and whispered “Wow…”   
Juki sat down next to him brushing off a drop of his juice from the corner of her mouth. She smiled at him. “I should do this more often. You taste amazing!” If Danse wouldn’t be red from all the hot water already he definitely was _now_. His wife laughed a hearty laugh. The one he fell in love with as he heard it for the first time back at Cambridge.

After redressing in fresh clothes Juki and Danse made their way to the mess hall. While eating they chatted a bit until Juki asked what he was dreaming about. Danse sighed as he lowered his voice. He told her how she came back to the Prydwen and how everything was fine until they went to bed. That he woke up because Emilia was crying. That he tried to wake Juki up, but she didn’t. “Your heart stopped beating sometime at night. Emilia felt it and cried. Cade came running after I screamed for him. He… ugh… said you were dead. You were already cold Juki…” And he told her of the Holotape. Her eyes started to fill with tears. “I have a Holotape I wanted to give you… With exactly that song on it. I wanted to tell you how much I love you, no matter what…” Danse looked at her, surprised “Juki…” he whispered. “I recorded it while you were sleeping.” She handed him the Holotape over. It had his name written on it. Danse was baffled over his own mind. He took the Holotape and stuffed it into a pocket. “Thank you”, he eventually said. “How about we go down to the beach today? It’s a nice day and really, the paperwork can wait for some more hours.”, he then said with a smile on his face. Juki nodded in agreement.

The sand was warm underneath their feet. Emilia laid on a blanket and giggled happily. They dug a baby-sized pit in the sand so she couldn't roll away.  
Juki wore a bikini and Danse a pair of shorts. The wind was warm and played with Juki’s hair. It grew pretty long now and caressed her down to her waist. Danse tried to fix his own. He muttered a little and accepted his defeat. Juki laughed at this and squealed “Incomiiing!” as she tackled him down to ruffle his hair. They wrestled and laughed until Danse laid on Juki. They both tried to catch their breath. Juki’s eyes glistened as she looked up at him. “I love you.” she said. “I love you, too.”, he answered.  
  
Life was good.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to all who were reading, commenting or giving Kudos for this. Means a lot to me :-)


	31. I love you

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is written in 1st amd 3rd Person POV

The visits of Ava were finally fun again. Arthur and her were a perfect match.

One day she told me how she came to the Brotherhood. Her parents were farmers, just like most of the people in the Commonwealth. One night a super mutant group attacked their settlement killing and burning down all and everything. Her parents tried to hide her in their hidden basement as the ambush began. The poor girl had to listen to the screams of dying people, gunshots and burning buildings. She also heard something else… The roaring of rotors in the air. She felt how three impacts shook the ground. The following sound wasn’t one she knew.  
_‘Ad Victoriam!’_ she heard someone yell. She heard how the super mutants got ambushed themselves.

Panic and curiosity drove her to open the basement doors and run out. Blinded by a light in the darkness she ran into a power armored soldier. She told Ava that everything would be fine, now that the Brotherhood was there. Together they searched for Ava’s parents until they found them lying dead on the ground. They fought till the end, to protect their child. Ava also told me that she cried herself into unconsciousness and later woke up at the Airport. She knew that she lost everything in that night. So she went to the elder asking him if she could stay here. Since then, Ava walked a long way. She now had a family again. People who cared about her. A man she could call father. She loved him unconditionally.

One day she came to Danse and me to ask us if we would allow her to live with Arthur. As we said yes she was the happiest person I ever saw in my life. She hugged us and ran to grab her stuff. Danse and I escorted her to Arthur. I had Emilia with me that day. He was working in his garden. “Arthur!”, Ava cried out as she spotted him between his crops. “Hey Ava.” he laughed as she dropped her belongings and ran towards him and jumped into his arms. He catched her with ease and hugged her close to his chest.  
He looked at us as she cradled her head in his neck. “How come that I see both of you here?”, he asked. “Arthur.”, Danse just said. Arthur looked at me. “Ava asked if she can live with you. We both wanted to tell you that we said yes. I’m sure it’s the best for the both of you.”, I answered him. His face lit up as he heard the news. His smile grew wide as held the girl up his head. “That’s wonderful news.”

Emilia giggled as a light breeze tickled her nose. Her tiny hands grabbed the warm air and she sneezed. “Aww, bless you Emilia.”, Ava cooed as she now sat on Arthur’s shoulder watching as the Emilia rubbed her nose. Arthur looked at the bundle in my arms. If he didn’t see it before then he did now. I could see the pain in his eyes he tried to hide. “You want to hold her?”, I asked him. His eyes widened at my question and he let down Ava. “R… Really?”, he said perplexed. I smiled at him and nodded. He took her carefully in his arms looking at her in awe. “She’s beautiful…” his voice trailed off. “Maybe we are going to sit down, huh?” Then we walked to the porch where Arthur and I sat down. Ava took Danse and dragged him to her dropped belongings. He helped her picking everything up and walked over with her to bring it inside. I could hear him hum as he looked around while Ava showed him the shack.

Arthur looked peaceful, lost in his thoughts. I knew what he was thinking about. I just wished he’d see that he didn’t need me to be happy…  
I didn’t realize that I was crying until Danse stepped out. “Juki, is everything alright?”, he asked, brows furrowed. Arthur looked up from Emilia. She was holding one of his fingers in her little fist and yawned. “Juki…”, he said. I sniffled as I stood up and took Emilia back into my embrace. “I’m fine. I just think it’s time that we leave the two of you to settle in. Bye…” Goodbye Juki, goodbye Elder.”, Ava called from inside the shack. “Goodbye.”, Arthur said.

As we walked back I got lost in my head. Why was I crying so much? Did I really feel something for Arthur in the end..? Hell, I didn’t know.  
Danse softly put an arm around me and helped me get into the Vertibird. Back at our quarters I put Emilia in her bed and carefully tucked her in. I grabbed myself a bottle of purified water and sat down at the desk and sighed. Danse crouched in front of me as I took a few swigs from my bottle. “What’s wrong honey?”, he eventually asked. I just shook my head and picked at the label of the water. I let out a breath.

“Arthur loves me. The day before he… before it happened I walked past the observation deck as he asked me to come closer. I could smell that he was drunk. He made me dance with him. Then suddenly he kissed me.” Danse’s eyes widened. Now that was something new for him. He felt that there was more than I just told. “Keep going.”, he demanded. “I smacked his face and left as fast as possible. Later that day I found a letter pinned to the door. He said he was sorry and also confessed his feelings for me. He begged me to keep it a secret what had happened earlier. And then just that day later…” My hands began to shake. “Shhh, it’s all okay.” Danse caressed my face in his hands. “There’s more”, I eventually kept talking. “As you know I often visited him at his shack then. He had a breakdown one day. He said he was sorry for everything what had happened between us. I believe him, Danse.”

He nodded, listening to my words. “Several days after I had Emilia, Ava came to Cade because she was afraid of Arthur. She told him that he locked himself up, drinking all the time and barely looking out for his crops. I went down to visit. The smell was terrible. He was so drunk that he vomited behind his shack. Then he told me. That he loves me, cares about me. That it hurts him that he didn’t tell me earlier. When I told him about Ava, he had another breakdown. I took him into my arms, tried to comfort him. After he calmed downhe eventually got up and gave me all his alcohol and said he doesn’t need It anymore.”  
“So this is where all the bottles in the Spare Time Area are coming from!” I glared at Danse, his cheeks turning pink at this interruption. “I left him then. He said _‘I love you Juki’_ just loud enough for me to hear…” I sighed. “Danse, on that visit before… I kissed him. I don’t know why but I did. It isn’t in my interest to spread false hope. But I can’t trust myself about that anymore!” I started to shake more and more as it all came out. I looked Danse into his deep brown eyes. This time I felt how the tears fell. Danse softly brushed them away as sadness overwhelmed him.  
“I… can’t believe that…”, he whispered. I closed my eyes trying to lean into his touch. Right then he let go of my face and stood up. “I think it’ll be better if I leave now. I need to think about all that.”  
“Danse…”

But the door was already shut.

________

Arthur and Ava settled down pretty well. Together they built a bed and a small locker for her.  
The day went by as they both worked in the garden harvesting the ripe crops.  
Ava beamed as she took a bite of a Mutfruit and the sweet juice hit her tongue. She squealed in joy and jumped around happily. “That’s the best Mutfruit I ever ate!”, she exclaimed. Arthur laughed and told her that it was because she helped growing them. Basket after basket was filled that day. The scribes that came to grab the crops laughed and ruffled Ava’s hair as she helped them.

“Ava, come home. It’s time for dinner.”, Arthur called out. She waved the scribes goodbye and ran back. Around the shack it smelled like Tato and Carrots and meaty. Arthur had made a stew and was at fine tuning it with salt.  
They both sat down and ate. Ava told Arthur what she had learned today. He listened carefully as she explained something to him. After cleaning their dishes they sat down for a bit. The radio was on and Travis played some relaxing music. Soon Arthur felt Ava’s head resting against his shoulder as she yawned. “Maybe it’s time you go to bed now, mh?”, he said to her. “Noooo. I want to stay up with youuuuu…” Another yawn. “Okay, maybe you’re right.”, Ava admitted and stood up. She slowly walked to her bed. Arthur followed her and tucked her in. he said goodnight to her. “Arthur?”, she then asked, holding his hand as he tried to walk away. “Yes?” He wondered what she wanted. “I love you.”, she then answered. A tired smile playing at her features. He smiled back and softly kissed her forehead. “I love you too, Ava. Goodnight.” He whispered the last word. Ava already fell asleep.

Arthur also went to bed. He felt light, joy overwhelming him as he finally realized that his broken heart was healed. And soon he fell asleep with the biggest smile.  
He finally had his very own happy end.

________

  
It was late evening. Danse sat outside the Prydwen, alone and lost in his thoughts. He couldn’t believe what his wife just told him earlier. How could she tell him that she had feelings for the man who raped her..? that she had kissed that man..? At least she was honest with him. He had to give her credit for that.  
He pulled his knees under his chin and then wrapped his arms around his legs. Although it was summer, the nights were cold. He felt numb. A cold breeze catched his hair and messed it up. He shuddered. _Time to go back inside I guess…_ He then thought.

Maintenance was empty as Danse walked there. His Power Armor standing in it’s station. He thought he saw dirt on some places and grabbed himself some fresh cloth and polish. He took his sweet time in cleaning and it took hours to polish it into a bright shine. Dark circles covered his eyes as he finally was satisfied enough to put the cloth away. He felt a little better but also hungry now.  
The first soldiers already ate their breakfast as he walked to the mess hall. He was a bit surprised as he looked at a watch. He polished his Armor for six hours straight. A new record. Danse shrugged and got himself something to eat. After finishing his breakfast he walked back to his quarters. He didn’t know if he wanted to talk to Juki, but he had to if he wanted to clear the air between them.

It was dark as he opened the door. As the light flicked on he saw a letter lying on the desk his name written in her fine hand writing.

  
_Danse,_  
  
_I’m leaving the Prydwen. I am so sorry for what had happened. That I kissed Arthur._  
_There was a time I wouldn’t have said no to him. But that time is long gone._  
_I said yes to you. And I’d do it again no matter what. I love you and that will never change. You are the father of our wonderful daughter and I couldn’t imagine someone else. I am happy that I met you all that years ago. That I didn’t look away when you were in need of help. I am happy that you proposed to me to join the Brotherhood._  
  
_I love you since the first time we met._

_But how can I look into your eyes if can’t even look into mine..?_  
_Give me time. I will come back. One day… Then we can talk._  
  
_Until then…_

He couldn't believe it. He fell down to his knees as he again and again read the letter. She had left him for an uncountable amount of time. He was nothing without her. She was his whole life. He trembled as he fell sideways on the floor. Silent cries escaped his mouth as he laid in darkness and he eventually cried himself to sleep.

  
________

  
The Vertibird landed near a settlement I didn’t know. A sign in front of it read _‘Welcome to Sanctuary Hills’_ Hmm, I already heard of it. There was a Vault nearby as far as I knew…  
Emilia slept deep in my arms. I had a dufflebag and Righteous Authority strapped to my back. God why did I have to take exactly _this_ rifle with me..? It felt heavy on my back as I made my way across the bridge. A man with a laser musket walked towards me. He told me that his name was Preston Garvey and that he was the Colonel of the Minutemen. I told him that I was the visitor at The Castle after they reclaimed it. He laughed and said that I should have stayed to help them clean the mess up _they_ had caused. I chuckled at this.

Emilia woke up. I knew she was hungry as she began to cry. “Excuse me Mister Garvey, she’s hungry.” He took a look at her and smiled. “No need for excuses. Come I’ll take you to a more private place.” we walked over to one of the houses. “It’s mine”, he said as he opened the door for us. “Feel free to stay as long as you want.” How did he know that? “Uh… Thank you Mister Garvey.” “Please, call me Preston. I can see in your eyes that something had happened to you.” And with this words he left me alone.

After feeding Emilia I changed her diapers. She giggled her happy giggles again as I played with her feet. I placed a kiss on her belly and cooed at her. _‘I love you’_ I whispered. It looked like she understood what I said as she just smiled at me and blinked. I found a crib where I put her in and she immediately fell asleep. I took the time to look around the house. The whole furniture looked like it was from pre-war times. Mh, I wish it looked like this on the Prydwen.  
  
_Danse…_  
  
I missed him. Although it was just hours since I left. I felt that without him my heart wasn’t whole. Hopefully he’ll understand my letter…  
  
God this house is too narrow. I went outside and just saw the river flowing just down the meadow behind the house. My feet found their way down to the river bed. It was quiet and peaceful. I sat down and listened to the soft waves. I didn’t know for how long I was sitting there.  
A young woman approached me with a bottle of purified water. She sat down next to me. “Here, I’m sure you must be thirsty.” Her voice was as soothing as the river’s flow. I looked at her. She had wonderful black hair, brown eyes and a sweet and friendly face. “I’m Nora by the way.” She smiled. “Thank you, Nora. My name’s Juki.” I took the bottle and emptied it. We then talked for a while. “Thanks for the talk Nora. But I should go back and see what my daughter is doing.” she nodded and helped me to stand up and walked back with me to Preston’s house. She was in awe as she saw Emilia and wanted to hold her. Nora’s eyes glistened as Emilia took one of her fingers and sucked on it. She had a child herself. His name was Shaun and already ten years old. Her husband Nate was the Minutemen’s General.  
  
  
                                                                                                                                         ________  
  
  
I was at Sanctuary Hills for almost two months now. It felt like home somehow. I made some friends there and Shaun was amazing with Emilia. But on the other hand I wished I was back at the Prydwen. I missed my own bed. I missed showering in silence.  
  
_I missed Danse!  
  
_I wondered what he was doing the last weeks, how _he_ was doing…  
Suddenly I felt homesick. Out of impulse I rushed and grabbed my dufflebag and Righteous Authority and went to get Emilia. She was sleeping as I lifted her out of the crib. I readied a Vertibird Signal Grenade. But before I threw it I said goodbye to all those nice people. Shaun came running and hugged me. He planted a soft kiss on Emilia’s forehead. I was sure I’d miss him. I walked out of Sanctuary Hills and threw the grenade. The whole settlement stood there waving me goodbye as the Vertibird ascended into the sky.  
  
  
                                                                                                                                         ________  
  
  
it was almost two months now since his wife left. He didn’t sleep well the whole time. Every night he woke up to the same nightmare. He was always covered in cold sweat when he woke. He suffered from panic attacks and always had to calm his breath so the rapid heaving of his chest would stop. The dark circles under his eyes were more prominent than ever. His beard grew wild and thick.  
Another day and another nightmare later he woke up and showered for the what felt like the millionth time. He didn’t want to know how much water the Brotherhood needed just because of him.  
The water was as hot as ever but he still felt cold. Something was very wrong with him. It felt like the warmth Juki shared with him started to fade away. And he knew that if the warmth was gone, she was too. He sighed.

His day was a constant bureaucratic one. He felt like he never read as much reports as today. He’d need a whole bucket full of coffee to survive this. His mind was always with Juki. He wondered what she was doing in the last two months, how _she_ was doing…  
  
His neck and back popped as he stretched them. He needed some fresh air.  
Just as he walked out to the flight deck a Vertibird was docking. He stood there and couldn’t believe his eyes. She was back! Butterflies and guilt had a brutal fight inside his stomach. He had to fight to hold down the tears.  
_God he missed her!_

As Juki finally set foot on the flight deck she immediately caught him in her eyes. But before she was able to walk towards him he rushed inside. Her stomach twisted.  
She walked to the door and the soldier standing guard next to it held it up for her. She nodded her thanks and walked inside.

 

                                                                                                                                      ________  
  
  
Danse didn’t know why he went inside. He just ran to the other side of the ship, away from her. He didn’t understand his feelings. He only understood where the tears were coming from…  
he thought he could handle this, himself. But he wasn’t aware on how strong his own feelings could grow. He felt nauseous as he rushed to a hiding spot. Before he was able to catch his breath Danse vomited violently into an empty metallic box. At least he hoped it was empty. He closed the lit after he brushed his mouth and then walked further.  
  
As he finally found a spot fitting enough he let himself plop onto the ground. _I hope no one finds me here…_ he thought.  
  
  
                                                                                                                                      ________  
  
  
My heart sank down to my toes as I saw how he rushed inside. He didn’t look good as far as I was able to see. I walked to the door and nodded at the solider holding it open. I went to the quarters to see if he went there. Negative.  
I put my stuff away and laid Emilia, still sleeping, in her crib. I hurried out the door just to hear fading footsteps. He could be everywhere.  
I asked some of the soldiers if they saw where Danse was running. They all pointed in the same direction. Okay a little hint but not enough…  
After I arrived at the cargo bay I heard someone vomiting. I called out for Danse. I knew he had to be there. I knew it had to be him who rolled their inner outward.

“Danse, please… Where are you?”, I cried out. I fell to my knees as a wave of sobs catched my body in a tight embrace. I hugged myself as I struggled to keep the screaming at bay. I didn’t hear the footsteps approaching me from behind. I just felt how strong arms cradled me. The screams ebbed away and only tears and silent sobs were left. I felt how those strong arms carried me away. They walked just they way I was coming minutes before. I had my eyes closed and eventually went silent and only sniffled a little. A door was opened and these arms softly laid me on a bed. I wanted to open my eyes but they were crusted shut. I panicked a little before my brain started to work again and I rubbed my eyes. They were red and swollen and I couldn’t see anything through the veil of tears, only blurred colors.

“Shhh, everything’s alright.”  
_That_ was Danse’s voice? Dear Steel he sounded tired and raspy.  
“Danse?”, I asked quietly. He held out some fresh cloth so I could dry off my eyes. He looked as he sounded. Tired, bloodshot eyes and oh his beard… Normally he kept it trimmed. My poor Danse…  
  
Another wave of tears welled up my eyes. “Juki…” Before he was able to say more I threw myself into his chest pressing my lips to his. I tried to cradle him as hard as possible. His embrace was extraordinary. Strong and soft at the same time. I felt safe. My haven in rough waters.  
  
After I broke the kiss to catch a breath he looked at me. “You look like shit.” he smirked as I cracked into laughing. “Did you look in the mirror?”, I then teased him as I ran my fingers through his beard.  
  
“ _I missed you so much”_ , we both said at the same time. Danse placed a kiss to my forehead. Emilia just woke up and cried and he rushed to her. “Hey Baby, Daddy’s here. I missed you.”, he cooed. She immediately stopped crying and giggled.  
Danse let out a hiss as Emilia’s little fingers found their way into his beard and pulled at it. I felt bad for laughing but as Danse turned around he was laughing, too.

We sat on the bed, Emilia between us so she couldn’t roll off. We had our fingers interlaced as we told each other what we did the last two months. It turned out that it was boring as hell. As Danse told me about his nightmares I was shocked.  
“I promise they won’t come back again.”, he stated. He finally felt warm again. But his expression turned into a serious one as he held up a hand to do a pinkie swear.  
“Promise me you will never leave again.” I interlaced my pinkie with his as I said “I promise that I will never ever leave you again!”  
  
We sat there at the bed for hours as we watched how Emilia rolled over for the first time. We cheered at her and she cooed in joy of her very own success. And soon she was asleep again. It got late and we decided to go to bed too.  
I just remembered that I had a holotape recorded. I wanted to show Danse how much he meant to me. That he had my voice with him for times if I wasn’t there. I placed it on the desk and wrote his name on it. Then I cuddled next to him enjoying the warmth of his body.

 

                                                                                                                                           ________  
  
  
  
It was a late morning when Danse woke up. Juki still laid next to him deeply sleeping.  
He carefully stood up to not disturb her sleep. He yawned and stretched as he walked to the bathroom.  
  
As Danse came back Emilia was crying. He took her out of the crib and held her in one arm. Normally she’d stop crying if he’d carried her. But not today. Something was wrong. “Juki, wake up. Your daughter is crying.” No response. No grunting or rolling over. He walked over to her and softly touched her. She felt cold. _Oh. Fuck…_  
Danse started to shake her but she didn’t move. Slowly he realized what had happened. He ran to the door and almost burst it out of it’s hinges as he screamed for Cade. He was there only a minute after Danse had set the whole vessel on alert.  
Danse didn’t have to tell what happened. Cade walked over to the bed and tried to feel Juki’s pulse. There was none. No one saw Cade cry before. Until he turned over as he said that Juki was dead. Everyone around was shocked about it.  
A scribe came running as she saw how Emilia slipped out of Danse’s arm. She caught her in time without hurting her. Danse looked at her, then at all the others. _“Get. Out.”_ , he whispered. They all followed without any question.

He tore his hair and wasn’t able to catch even one thought. His mind was racing. He paced like a tiger in a cage and eventually he discovered the holotape lying on the desk, his name written on it. He took a deep breath as he sat down and put the tape into his terminal. The clicking of static noises was audible.

_‘’Hi Danse. I just wanted to tell you how much you mean to me. How much I love you. And I thought that I’d sing a song for you…_  
  
_‘Your precious love means more to me_  
_Than any love could ever be._  
_For when I wanted you,_  
_I was so lonely and blue,_  
_For That's what love will do_  
_And darling, I'm so surprised,_  
_Oh, when I first realized_  
_That you were fooling me._  
_And darling, they say that our love won't grow._

_But I just want to tell them they don't know._  
_For as long as you're in love with me,_  
_Our love will grow wider,_  
_Deeper than any sea._  
_And of all the things that I want,_  
_In this whole wide world, is_  
_Just for you to say that you'll be my girl._  
_Wanting you, I'm so lonely and blue._  
_That's what love will do.’_

  
_I love you, Danse. For ever.’’_

The static noises ended. Tears streamed down into his beard as he sat at the blank terminal.  
  
_You said that you would never leave me again..._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, that was it...
> 
> A journey through ups and downs... I am going to miss writing it.  
> But maybe now i'll have some time for One Shots. 
> 
> Writing this Fiction helped me through a lot of depression. I wrote the best things when I was really sad.  
> Maybe that's the reason how it ended... *shrugs*
> 
> I love Danse from the bottom of my heart. Believe me.  
> Every night I go to bed my last thoughts are with him. (I know, I know... That woman is totally crazy!!)
> 
> Last but not least, thanks for reading. Means a lot to me.
> 
> PS: Here's the link to the song of the Lyrics Juki sang -> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SrZ7NfwNBEk  
> PPS: If you don't want to cry while reading the last part DO NOT CLICK ON THIS LINK! -> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sonLd-32ns4
> 
> Bye...


End file.
